Stuck with Me
by lydiarmarks
Summary: Max and Victoria finally graduate and move to Seattle together. The parents have no idea and chaos ensues. Being an adult is gonna be awesome... Right? SEQUEL TO SUCKED INTO THE VORTEX
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Max's POV

Tori and I had finally graduated from Blackwell and were planning to move to Seattle within a week of graduation. The only problem with our plan were my parents. They still had no idea that Victoria and I were dating and I hadn't exactly been keen on telling them. Not because I didn't love Tori and want the whole goddamn world to hear about it, I just really wasn't sure how my parents would react to something like that. I was their only child, "the only heir to the Caulfield name" as my dad always put it. It was always a joke, sure, but Jesus Christ was it a scary joke.

Apparently my parents had been very aware of the fact I like girls, so they weren't upset, but it scared me to think of how they'd react if they found out that I'd been secretly dating Victoria since the middle of my last year at Blackwell. The first time they had met Tori was at graduation, and we sure as hell weren't going to tell them then. None of Tori's family had come to the ceremony, sending the information for our new apartment in the mail. They didn't know that Tori and I were dating either. Hell, they didn't even know that Tori was gay. However, my parents and both sets of grandparents came to the ceremony, all with big smiles and familiar faces that I had missed more than I could've imagined. I cried when I saw my grandpa, but in my defense, he lived in Ireland so I didn't get to see him all that often.

"That's the same Victoria that took you to the hospital over winter break, right?" Dad had asked when I'd pointed her out across the crowd. She was dressed in her cap and gown still, but I had seen the dress that she'd decided to wear under it and the memory of the way it hugged her curves made me sigh a little.

"Yeah, that's her," I replied, sounding out of it even to myself. I got a slap on my right shoulder blade from my grandpa who then wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Well, don't just stand there, go and get her so that you can introduce us," he said, giving me a big smile that I couldn't help returning. But when I looked over at Victoria, she was looking back at me, her eyes kind of wide. I took a deep breath, walking over to her. She watched me suspiciously as I made my way towards her, her eyes narrowing. When I finally reached her, I gave her a sheepish smile, my heart racing in my chest. We had been together for awhile now, but that glare of hers was still terrifying. It was hard not to just kiss her right then and there, but I didn't want to give my grandma a heart attack so I just opened my arms for a hug.

"My family wants to meet you, just go with it," I whispered as she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight.

"Fine," she said, straightening her cap and gown when I pulled away. "How do I look?" She asked, giving me a nervous look. I smiled despite myself, looking her up and down. These gowns never did anyone justice, but Tori somehow managed to still look stunning. I was just glad that my parents were far enough away so that they couldn't hear what I was saying.

"You look perfect, babe," I replied, linking arms with her to give the illusion that we were just "gals being pals" or whatever that thing was I'd seen online. "Just breathe, alright? They don't bite."

"Oh, so it's not genetic, that's good," she retorted, making me blush a little. I held in a laugh, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

"You know you love it," I replied, slowly getting closer and closer to my family. I felt myself getting more and more nervous by the second.

"Not as much as you do," she said quietly, just before we reached my family. I couldn't say anything back, so I just kept my mouth shut while Victoria disconnected herself from me, standing up tall as she put on that "Yes, I am Victoria Chase, thank you for noticing," facade that she always got whenever she was around anyone she wanted to impress. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at her.

"You must be Victoria," my mom said, giving her a big smile as she held out her hand. Tori smiled and shook my mom's hand, looking surprisingly stiff.

"That's me," she replied. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Maxine has told me so much about you." My dad laughed, the sound booming around us and disturbing birds that'd been resting peacefully in the tree above us. My mom gave me a surprised look when Victoria said my full name and I stiffened in response, giving her a sheepish smile.

"She actually lets you call her Maxine?" Mom asked as Victoria shook my dad's hand.

"And she has quite the grip, too," my dad added, giving her a knowing smile. I felt my nervousness freeze into a knot in my stomach as I watched the scene in front of me unfold.

Oh god, I thought, wishing that this whole thing would end quickly. Please, spare me from this embarrassment.

"No wonder she wants to move in with you," my dad said, making me groan. I lowered my head, burying my face in my hands as my cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. Tori just laughed nervously, patting my shoulder.

"Can we please not have this conversation?" I begged, running my fingers through my hair.

"Oh, come on, Max," my mom said, giving me a sweet smile. "Your dad is only teasing. Plus, Victoria probably gets compliments all the time, seeing how she's such a beautiful and talented young woman." Now it was Tori's turn to blush, making me smirk a little.

"We wanted to thank you for taking care of Max before," my dad said, smiling at Tori and putting a hand on her shoulder. "We were away and all, so we couldn't come back to check on her, but she told us all about how you were there for her through her recovery." I held down the smile that threatened to break through from the memory. Christmas with Tori had definitely been special, but my parents still had no idea just how special it really was.

"I'm just glad that I was able to be there for her when she needed me," Tori replied, giving me a smile that sent warmth through me in waves.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" Grandpa asked, smiling sweetly at Victoria. "We were going to go out to dinner to celebrate, you should come along. Invite your parents even, dinner and drinks are on me."

"Oh, that's really very kind, but I wouldn't want to intrude," Tori said, but my mom interrupted her.

"Nonsense!" mom said, wrapping her arm around Tori's shoulders. "Where are your parents? We would love to meet them." Tori's expression only fell a little, barely enough for anyone to notice, but I noticed.

"My parents aren't here, they um… Had a very important meeting to attend," she replied, making my whole family adopt confused expressions as they looked at each other and then at me. I swallowed hard, laughing nervously.

"Maxine Caulfield," mom said in disbelief. "Your poor friend here didn't have a single graduation plan for tonight and you didn't bother inviting her to dinner?"

"I -" but Tori interrupted before I could answer.

"Oh, no she invited me earlier," she said, which was true. I had invited her, but she had looked like she might pass out at the thought of spending a whole evening with my family. I didn't blame her. It wasn't like she didn't want to, she was just so nervous. "I just didn't want to intrude on such a special family event."

"Well, consider yourself a Caulfield, lass," grandpa said, taking her cap off her head and placing it on his own. "'Cause you're coming to dinner with us tonight." Tori gave me a pleading look, but I just walked over and linked arms with her again and grabbing her cap off my grandpa's balding head, heading towards the girls dorms.

"Ok, well, we'll be right back, we just have to put our gowns in our rooms," I said as we walked away, feeling Tori's grip on my arm tighten.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She hissed at me as we made it out of earshot. I held in my giggles and cast a quick glance over my shoulder towards my family. They're all watching us walk away as we turn the corner that leads to the dorms.

"It won't be that bad, it's just dinner," I replied, taking her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers. "Plus, I thought you wanted to meet my parents."

"I did, but that was before I realized that they probably think I'm some rich bitch who's trying to corrupt their daughter," she said quickly, squeezing my hand nervously. I laughed, my eyes filling with tears as we reached the dorm doors. I had to stop for a minute to catch my breath from laughing so hard.

"Oh my god, what?" I asked, wiping the tears off my face as I caught my breathe. "You can't be serious." Tori just scoffed and opened the door to the dorms, holding it open for me.

"They suspect us and you know it," she accused, but there was no weight behind it, just her signature glare and crossed arms. "They think you're trying to sleep with me." It took every ounce of willpower I had not to bust up laughing again.

"I hate to break it to you, babe, but I have slept with you," I replied, my voice tense from holding in my laughter. She threw me a glare and I giggled, watching her storm into her dorm. I followed, taking off my cap and gown as I went. I closed the door behind me, tossing my cap and gown onto the white couch that was still sitting in her room. My stuff had all been moved back to Seattle and put in storage until Tori and I were ready to move. Basically, I'd been sleeping in Tori's room for the past week, which was exciting, to say the least. My parents had no idea that I was sleeping in Tori's room, they thought that I was using a sleeping bag in my own dorm. As much as I hated lying to them, I was just too scared to to tell them about Tori and I. I honestly had no idea how they would react. We never had any family members that were gay or anything and my parents usually didn't talk to me about that stuff. Well, they had tried to when I was younger, but they hadn't been able to since I'd gone to Blackwell.

"Do you think they'll like me?" Tori asked, her voice pulling me from my thoughts. She was standing in front of her mirror, looking herself up and down to make sure that there were no flaws to be seen. I smiled, walking over and wrapping my arms around her from behind, kissing her bare shoulder. She was wearing a single strapped, red dress that went down a little past her midthigh. It hugged her curves, showing off her swaying hips and perfect skin. I kissed up her shoulder, kissing her neck a little before standing on my tiptoes to kiss her cheek.

"They'll love you," I said softly, leaning my chin on her shoulder and giving her a little squeeze. "But not as much as I love you, because I already called dibs." She chuckled, rolling her eyes as her brilliant smile flashed for a moment in the mirror before she looked away. Her hair was perfect, as always, the shimmering blond strands slicked back a bit with some gel so that the hair didn't get near her eyes. She had gotten it cut again recently, not daring to change her hairstyle despite some nasty comment her mom had made to her the other day. Her white teeth contrasted well with the red lipstick she was wearing, her makeup just as perfect as her hair. She had even shaved her legs perfectly, not bothering to wear tights of any kind under her dress. It had taken all of my willpower and then some not to just sit there and touch her legs all day because they were so soft.

"You're such a fucking dork, Caulfield," she said, smiling at our reflection in the mirror as she stroked my forearms with her hands. I smiled blissfully, closing my eyes and kissing her shoulder again. I wasn't as nicely dressed as Tori was, but it was definitely one of the nicer outfits I'd worn in awhile. It was just a simple blue, sleeveless dress with a thin black belt. I wore it along with some nylons - even though Tori had insisted that I didn't need to - and black flats. Tori's three inch heels made her a total of five inches taller than me now, but I didn't really mind it. She looked powerful and beautiful, overall alluring, if I'm honest.

"I mean, I would be a fucking dork if we were fucking," I replied, making Tori shake her head at my awful joke. But she still laughed a little, which was a good sign.

"Shut up and get out there so we can go to dinner with your family already," she said, opening her door for me. I stopped in front of her, giving her a quick kiss before walking out the door.

"You heard my grandpa, you're one of us now," I said, yelping when I felt Tori smack my ass. I whirled around to see her grinning at me.

"What? It wasn't me," she said, closing her door and kissing my cheek, rubbing a bit of lipstick off of where she kissed.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" I asked, taking her hand as we headed down the hall to the main door of the dorms.

"Not particularly, no," she said, giving me the most shit eating grin I'd ever seen. I just laughed, shaking my head as we made our way back to where my family was waiting for us. No matter what happened next, Tori was worth all of it, that much I was certain of.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Victoria's POV

The Caulfields were probably the exact opposite of my family. You couldn't find any group of people more unlike my family even if you scoured the very edges of the planet for decades. Which isn't a bad thing, really. Someone was always talking and making people laugh and there was never a dull conversation. Max told me later that the reason why her family was acting so enthusiastic was because I was there. She said that they wanted me to think they were cool, which made me laugh because it sounded so out of the ordinary that a group of adults would want to impress me. It was usually the other way around, though their methods of impressing someone were far different from mine.

Max's grandpa, or Pops as he told me to call him, had one of the thickest accents I had ever heard in my life. How Max ever held up a conversation with him, I'll never know. It wasn't really that I couldn't understand his words, it was just that he talked so fast that I couldn't put his words together quickly enough to think of a response half the time. He was a nice man, though and he decided to call me Tori the way Max did. I didn't mind it at all, really. It made me feel like I was really being included, even if I did give a weak protest here and there to seem like I was annoyed by the nickname.

Max's dad drove us to a nice restaurant downtown, surprising me a little. I had expected us to go to Two Whales, but I suppose they wanted to go somewhere a little nicer for Max's graduation. Or maybe they didn't want to bring up any memories for Joyce. Max had taken me to the Two Whales a few times and I had gotten a chance to talk to Joyce a few times. She was a surprisingly feisty woman, but I suppose that I should've gathered that from all the stories Max had told me.

We made our way into the restaurant, waiting less than ten minutes for a table that was a booth in the very back of the building. It was against a window, though, so it wasn't too bad. Max's mom's parents had gone back to their hotel, saying that they had experienced enough fun for one day, but hoped that we would have fun at dinner, so Mr. Caulfield's parents sat on the opposite side of the booth from Max and I, along with Max's parents. Max let me sit on the end, which I was grateful for. It made me feel like I had an escape route incase I said something stupid. We all looked through our menus for a few minutes, Max looking up at me every now and again to smile at me a little. I wondered if she knew how nervous I was. I just hoped that I was hiding it somewhat well.

"So, Victoria," Mr. Caulfield said, drawing my attention away from the menu and the way Max was bouncing her leg under the table. I loved Max to death, but the girl wouldn't be able to sit still for more than five minutes if her life depended on it. "How did you and Max meet? She never really told us how the two of you became friends." I tensed up a little, caught off guard by the question. But Max's leg was still bouncing under the table, making it hard to think of an answer that sounded close enough to the truth to be convincing, but far enough away from it that it didn't sound like I had bullied their daughter for the first half of the school year. I moved my hand on top of Max's leg, holding it in place. She tensed up immediately, looking up from her menu with wide eyes. I managed a small smile as I let go of her leg, feeling her eyes on me for a moment.

"We had photography class together," I replied, wishing that there was a little less that came along with that. Like the whole having a psychopath for a teacher thing. Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield exchanged a glance before Mr. Caulfield smiled at me again.

"Max never told us that you were a photographer," he said, setting his menu on the table and smiling at me like I was one of the most interesting people on the planet. I felt my cheeks heat up a little, not really used to adults paying much attention to my love for photography.

"I doubt that Max would talk about me very much to begin with," I said with a smile, feeling Max's foot gently nudge mine under the table like I had said something silly. Mrs. Caulfield chuckled, giving me a knowing smile.

"Max is actually quite fond of you, I'm afraid," she said, making Max blush as she tensed up beside me. I looked over at her, smirking at her and resisting the urge to kiss her on the cheek.

"Oh, really?" I asked, making Max fold into herself as almost everyone at the table stared at her.

"Good evening, folks, can I take your order?" The waiter asked, giving us all his best practiced smile. He looked like one of the guys that Taylor would chase after with his short, spiked up hair and sculpted muscles that left little room to move in his white button up shirt.

"Yes, please," Max hurried out, ordering a Coke and cheese burger. I ordered salmon and water, hoping that my meal wasn't too expensive. I wasn't used to having anyone but myself or my parents pay for the things I ordered. Mrs. Caulfield ordered a salad while Mr. Caulfield and his parents all ordered steak. When the waiter walked away, Max's grandma leaned over the table a little, grinning at Max.

"He was quite handsome, don't you think?" She asked, making Max blush again and grab for my hand under the table. I looked over at her and then back to her family. Mr. Caulfield laughed, taking his mother's hand.

"Come on, mom, you know that Max isn't into guys," he said, taking me a little off guard while Max choked on a sip of water. I patted her back, holding in a laugh as she quickly wiped the water and spit off of her mouth and the top of her dress.

"What the hell, dad?" she sputtered, making it even harder for me to hold in my laughter.

"What? Isn't it obvious?" He asked, looking at Mrs. Caulfield who was shaking her head and holding in her own laughter.

"Well, it is now," Pops said, giving me a knowing smile. "What about you, Victoria, what tickles your fancy?" Now it was my turn to start blushing, but I managed to stop myself from stuttering or choking on water. Everyone was looking at me expectantly now, making my skin crawl uncomfortably.

"Can we not do this?" Max asked, her voice strained from trying to get all the water out of her lungs.

"Well, we never get to see you," Mr. Caulfield protested, looking a little indignant. "When else are we supposed to talk about it?"

"I just don't want you guys interrogating my friends," Max replied, gripping my hand under the table again.

"It's ok, Max," I said, giving her a soft smile. She met my gaze, a little taken aback. "I don't mind. Personally, I prefer women, but that's just me." I tried to make it sound as nonchalant as possible, but this was basically the second time I'd really come out to anyone before. The first time I told anyone I liked girls was when Nathan and Taylor and I all got high during a Vortex Club party and some guy tried to hook up with me. Mr. Caulfield hummed his acknowledgement, smiling at me and then looking at Max.

"See, that wasn't so bad, right?" He asked. Max just lowered her head onto the table and groaned softly.

"Just be sure not to spend too much alone time together," Mrs. Caulfield said, giving me a look that sent shivers down my spine. "Being roommates doesn't always work if you're having sex." My heart clenched in my chest and I had to stop myself from running out the front door. Max sat bolt upright, hitting her knee on the underside of the table with a loud bang while letting out a little yelp and cursing under her breathe.

"Here we go," the waiter said as he set plates of food on the table. "Who ordered the cheeseburger?"

"She did," I said, taking the plate and gently setting it in front of her. The rest of dinner was spent avoiding the subject of sex completely and teasing Max about other things instead of giving her a heart attack.

When we got back to the dorms, Max laid face down on my bed, burying her face in my pillow and letting out a long, loud sigh as I walked over to her. I sat down on the side of the bed, stroking her back as she let out another sigh and sat up, a tired look in her eyes as her eyelids drooped a little.

"I still can't believe that my mom thinks we're having sex," she said, staring off into space. I held in my giggles, stroking her hair comfortingly.

"Awe… Maxine… We are having sex," I joked, catching her poor attempt at a glare. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"I hate you," she said weakly, burying her face in my shoulder. "That was exhausting."

"Well, luckily for you, you can sleep now and then sleep some more even because there's no more school," I said softly, kissing the top of her head. She nodded, standing up and turning her back to me.

"Can you unzip me?" She asked me, making me smile a little. I stood, kissing the back of her neck as I tugged the zipper of her dress down. I gently slid the straps off of her shoulders, savoring the tiny shivers it brought from her skin.

"Are you gonna be ok?" I asked, watching as she took her dress off and tossed it onto my couch. I had cleared out a space for her clothes in my closet, but she always threw her clothes on the couch first. I mean, she put them away within a day or so, but still, why not just put them in the closet first?

"I'll be fine," she sighed, stretching her arms above her head before turning around to face me. I knew she had something on her mind that she wasn't telling me. She always got this look on her face that made my insides ache, like thinking about whatever it was physically hurt her. Cupping her cheek with my hand, I took a step toward her, keeping her gaze locked with mine.

"Hey," I whispered, trying to be as gentle as I could. "What's the matter?" You had to be gentle with Max sometimes. It was like getting a bird to eat out of your hand, you had to be still and quiet and try to forget about everything else before she would trust you. She dropped her gaze from mine, watching the empty space between us.

"What if they stop talking to me when they find out about us?" She whispered, still avoiding my gaze. "What if they don't love me anymore?" My heart clenched inside my chest, her words taking me off guard. Why did Max always have such heavy thoughts in her head? Did she always think of things like this? Was she always putting her mind through such huge ordeals?

"I don't think it's possible to stop loving you, Maxine," I said softly, kissing her forehead. "Your parents love you more than anything else in the world because that's what being a parent means. Plus, with the way they talked about you being bi, I don't think that it would bother them."

"But you heard what my mom said about the whole you and me having sex thing," she replied nervously, stepping a little closer to me and leaning her head on my shoulder. "What if she freaks out?" I paused for a moment, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close as she took steady breaths.

"I'm sure that she would be ok with it eventually," I replied, stroking her hair. "If anyone is going to still love you and talk to you after you confess that you've been dating me, it would be your parents. They seem really cool. Even your grandparents seemed ok with the whole thing before." There was another pause, the two of us standing in the middle of my room as Kate played violin nextdoor. Max was still only wearing her bra and panties while I was still fully clothed, my heels only starting to hurt a little after having been standing all day. When Max let out a sigh, she wrapped her arms around me, finally looking up at me.

"You're right," she said softly, taking in my features. "Why are you so good at being right?" I smirked down at her, leaning down to gently bump her nose against mine.

"I'm a Chase, remember?" I replied, letting my hands roam up and down her sides, making her giggle a little. "As a family, we are known for our impeccable being right abilities." Max just laughed, shaking her head and leaning up to kiss me, pulling me close.

"Well, I love that about you," she said, giving me a look that made my heart race. She gave me that look a lot, usually when she thought I wasn't paying attention. It was like I was the only important person in the world at that moment. "It means that, when I think bad things and you think good ones, you're the one who's right. It makes me feel better." I smiled, kissing her again and lightly dragging my nails up her back until my hands reached her shoulder blades.

"Well, then that means that when I say that you're prettier than me then you have to believe me, right?" I teased, giving her another quick kiss before pulling her close and kissing down her neck. She giggled, her fingers lacing into my hair.

"You know you're the prettier one, don't even try to pretend it's not true," she replied, smiling at me as I pulled away from her neck to meet her eyes. I gave her my best challenging stare, which had become considerably weak to her shimmering gray eyes and adorable smile.

"Shut up and help me get my dress off so I can prove just how beautiful you are," I whispered, kissing her tenderly. Max Caulfield, my love, my heart, I will show you just how amazing you are if it's the last thing I do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Max's POV

After a couple more days at Blackwell, Tori and I moved all of our stuff into our brand new apartment in Seattle. I was honestly shocked at how nice the place was, but I suppose that I should've expected that the Chase family would get the best apartment they could for their only daughter. It was a small, two bedroom apartment with one bathroom. The kitchen and the living room were one giant room in the very front and were the first room you walked into. When I walked into the apartment for the first time, I was surprised to see that Tori's parents had already hired someone to move most of our stuff in already. I had sort of been hoping that we would be able to do it, but I liked the way the movers had set up the living room. The kitchen was clean, a new fridge standing proudly in the corner near the sink. There was an island that separated the kitchen and living room, but it was all hardwood flooring.

"Did you use that plasma from your dorm for the livingroom?" I asked, eyeing the tasty plasma that was hanging from the wall between the door to the bathroom and the door to the second bedroom.

"Nope, I saved that one for the master bedroom," she replied, eyeing the wallpaper.

"Oh," I said, moving to the door the lead to the master bedroom. I opened the door to see a queen sized bed set up against the far wall, the plasma from Tori's room mounted on the wall right across from the bed. The floor was carpet and the wallpaper was the same light blue with brown trim. The bed didn't have any sheets on it yet and the rest of the apartment really didn't have a lot of personal stuff in it yet.

"So, I thought that we would share this room and then we can make the extra room into a study type of thing," Tori said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Wait," I said, turning to where she stood in the middle of the living room, her fingertips gliding over the stark white couch in front of the TV. "You wanna share a room?" She looked up at me, her brows furrowed a bit.

"What? You don't want to?" She asked, looking a little hurt, which was surprising.

"No, of course I do," I said, walking over to her with a smile on my face as I took her hand. "I just didn't think that you'd want to, that's all. But I would love to share a room with you." The brought a smile to her face, making me giggle a little at how insecure she'd been about something like that.

"You wouldn't mind waking up next to me every morning?" She whispered, giving me that shy look she put on when she was trying to get me to tell her how pretty I thought she was or how talented she was. It was adorable, even if it was just her fishing for a compliment. Still, I felt like maybe me saying that stuff meant a lot to her, so I didn't mind it at all. I smiled at her, wrapping my arms around her neck and kissing her softly.

"I wouldn't mind at all, actually," I replied, lacing my fingers in her hair. "I'd gladly give up having my own room to wake up to your beautiful face every morning." I saw her trying to hold in her smile, but it wasn't really working because she had to look away from me, her cheeks going pink.

"You're such a mushy hipster, it's sickening," she teased, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a tight embrace. I couldn't help smiling, even if this whole thing made me hella nervous. I was so excited for my future with Tori, but I also had no idea where it would lead. But for now, that didn't really matter. "Maybe we could… You know… Break the bed in a little." The words sent a pleasant shiver through me and I sighed, wishing that I didn't have to go to work.

"I really wish we could, but I have to go to work so they can train me, remember?" I said, feeling my heart sink when I pulled away to see a pouty look on Tori's face.

"Why don't you just stay here with me?" She pleaded, tugging gently on the ends of my jacket. "I could do whatever you want. Maybe we could even try something a little more… Adventurous." I swallowed dryly, trying to figure out what it was I was supposed to be doing in that moment.

"Tori, I -" But she started laughing, kissing me softly.

"You're so adorable when you're flustered," she giggled, letting go of my jacket after looking me up and down one more time. "Just remember that we're going to have some fun when you back, got it?" She said as she walked past me, grabbing my ass and squeezing before going to check out the bedroom. "I'll be waiting."

I was frozen where I stood for a moment, trying to get my head to start working again, struggling to gather myself. I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair as I headed towards the door.

"I'll be back tonight, I love you," I called out, my voice cracking just a little.

"Love you too, hurry back," Tori called back.

I took Tori's car to work since mine was in the shop. Tori's car was new, even better than one she'd had during the school year, but it was still a very similar car. My car was an old toyota that was at least two years older than I was, but I didn't mind that too much. I had inherited it from my great grandma when I was twelve, but hadn't gotten my license until right before graduation. I had taken it into the shop recently to get it checked out, but there had been some issues, so I had to leave it there for a few days while they got it fixed up.

Luckily, my job wasn't too far. I had managed to get an assisting job at a photography studio that did school picture days and all that. It was a good job that paid well and it was in the field that I wanted to work in. In the interview, I had been told that I would be moving equipment, setting it up, posing kids for pictures and making sure that the photographers had everything they needed to get picture days done as quickly as possible. My boss, a very tall woman with red hair and tattoos, had told me that I might even be able to get a job as a photographer with them if I did well during the fall and summer seasons, which made me want to jump up and down and scream a little, but I also didn't want to get fired before I'd even started.

When I got to the studio, I made sure that my clothes at least looked somewhat presentable. They had said not to dress up too much since we would be learning how to use some of the equipment, but I couldn't help thinking that maybe my usual attire wasn't quite what they meant. I shrugged, straightening my jacket and making sure my t shirt didn't have any stains on it before walking up the the front door of the studio. I opened it and was immediately hit by the sounds of people talking and moving around somewhere in the back of the studio. The first thing I saw when I walked in was just the check in where people went to get forms and stuff. There were two women at the front desk, both of them sitting at rather snazzy looking Apple computers. The one with long black hair looked up at me, giving me a smile that gave me no choice but to smile back.

"Hi, how can I help you?" She asked as I walked up to the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Max and I'm here for the employee orientation," I said, suddenly feeling nervous. This place was much fancier than I had anticipated, but it was still in its set up phase. The company had only been around for about a year, but was quickly becoming one of the best studios in Seattle.

"Alright, you can just go ahead to the back room around the corner there," she replied, pointing to a hallway to my right. "Just follow the noise and you'll find where you're supposed to be."

"Thanks," I said, fidgeting with the strap of my messenger bag as I turned to walk away.

"Good luck, Max," the woman said, smiling strangely at me when I looked back at her. I laughed nervously, waving and hurrying down the hall. Most of the walls had picture after picture of people about my age taking their senior pictures for the yearbook and stuff. I hadn't gotten a senior picture done because Blackwell didn't require us to get one done. I just sent in a picture Tori had taken of me while I was studying for finals out in the courtyard. I had been sitting under a tree right as the sun was setting and apparently Tori just hadn't been able to resist the photo opt. The memory made me smile to myself, making me feel a little less nervous.

Tori knew I could do this, so I had to believe it too. She had been the one who'd convinced me to go for it in the first place, saying that if I could go through all of the shit I'd gone through back in October then this would be easy. She was right. This was a chance for me to start over and take control of my life in a way that I never thought I could. Maybe Tori's ambition was rubbing off on me a little.

But it was much harder to hold onto that confidence when I walked into the back room, seeing about thirty people of varying ages all talking and making friends already. A few looked up at me when I walked in, making me stiffen a bit. I looked over the faces I saw, wishing that I could just find a seat and sit down.

"Max?" Someone said from across the room. I turned towards the voice, my nervousness dissipating completely.

"Kate," I breathed, quickly making my way towards her and pulling her into a hug as she stood up. I hugged her tight, feeling her chest vibrate a little when she laughed, hugging me back just as tight.

"I'm so happy to see you," she said, smiling at me and looking me over when we pulled away. "You look exactly the same." I laughed, taking a good look at Kate. She was wearing a pair of jeans with a pretty nice blouse, her gold cross necklace hanging from her neck

"You look amazing, Kate," I said with a big smile, trying to remember the last time I'd seen her this alive. She had a genuine smile on her face and looked like she'd been actually eating and getting good sleep. It almost made me want to cry because I couldn't stop seeing the look on her face when she'd wanted to jump off that roof. The difference between that Kate and the woman standing in front of me were incredible. "I miss you so much, I'm so glad you're here." Kate laughed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She was wearing it down for once, which was nice.

"You act like you haven't seen me in ages, Max," she said, motioning for me to sit down in the chair next to hers.

"Well, in my defense, I wasn't sure when I would see you next," I replied, taking a seat and setting my messenger bag down on the floor next to me.

"We should plan to have more tea dates," she suggested, her eyes lighting up a little. "Maybe you and Victoria can come with Dana and I." I quirked an eyebrow at her, unable to stop myself from smirking a little.

"Oh, Dana, huh?" I asked, nudging her arm with my elbow. Kate's cheeks went red instantly, making me laugh. "Oh my god, are you cereal?" Kate was holding in a smile, but her eyes were shining with the happiness she must've felt.

"Yeah, she kind of… Well," she began, but the woman I'd interviewed with, the tall one with red hair, walked in, carrying a binder that looked like it was heavier than I was. She had a smile on her face that reminded me a lot of Tori's when she wasn't actually happy to be where she was. The way it didn't quite reach her eyes, but almost looked real because of how used she was to pretending it was genuine.

"Welcome, ladies and gentle, to Vision Works Photography," she said, the words rolling off of her tongue like honey, almost making me sleepy. "My name is Angie Marshall and I'll be your boss as long as you work with us. I'd like to thank all of you for being on time and dressing appropriately for working with the equipment." I shrunk into myself a little because I still wasn't sure if I really was dressed right.

From there, we learned how to set up a station and take it down, how to load a van and which stuff went in which cases. After that, I walked Kate to her car, listening to her talk about Dana and how they'd gotten together. Apparently Dana had come back to the dorms totally wasted after a Vortex Club party about a week after she'd broken up with Trevor and Kate was the only one left in the dorms. Well, Tori and I had been there, but no one knew that back then, so I decided not to mention it. Anyway, when Dana had passed out in the hallway, Kate found her and took the poor passed out Dana into her room where Kate took care of her, eventually falling asleep next to her. When they'd woken up the next morning, Dana had thought they'd slept together, but Kate had explained what happened. Dana then suggested that they hang out more, which explains how many times I'd seen the two of them hanging out together around campus near the end of the year. Then, right before graduation, they'd kissed, deciding to go on a few dates. They were both going to the same college together so they had requested to share a dorm. Apparently things were going really well for the two of them, which made me really happy. I gave Kate a quick summary of what had been happening for Tori and I, saying that i actually had to head home. But when I said goodbye to Kate and was headed back to my car, I heard a small meowing sound from under my car.

I looked around, standing stone still beside Tori's car. The small meow came again, making me kneel down onto the rough asphalt to look under the car. My eyes widened when I spotted the source of the sound and I slowly moved under the car, reaching out my hand. There was a small, black and white kitten curled up in the shade of the car, looking up at me with bright yellow eyes.

"Come here, kitty," I said softly, making small kissy noises like I always did with Chloe's cat. The kitten got to its feet, watching my hand as it stepped forward, sniffing my fingers before licking them a little. I resisted the urge to make an aw noise, gently grabbing the kitten by its scruff. It didn't protest, staying still as I pulled it out from under the car and stood up. When I got to my feet, I held the tiny kitten in my hands, looking it over a little. "Hi, little guy." It meowed, rubbing its head against my hand.

I ended up putting the kitten on the passenger seat of Tori's car, hoping it wouldn't pee on the really nice leather seat. I stopped by the pet store on the way home, getting the kitten checked while also buying a few things that it would need until we found it a new owner. Or until Tori said I could keep it.

When I got home, Tori was sitting on the couch, her glasses perched on her nose as her eyes roamed over her Anatomy textbook. She looked up at me when I walked in, her brow furrowing when she saw all the things I was carrying, as well as the tiny cat carrier I had in one hand.

"What's all that?" She asked, setting her textbook down on the couch. I cleared my throat, preparing for the worst as I set the things down. I opened the cat carrier, pulling the kitten out of it and holding him up for Tori to see. I tried to put on my best pouty face, hoping it would work.

"I found him under the car after work," I replied, taking a step towards her with the kitten held against me. "Isn't he cute?" Tori sighed, moving her glasses up a bit to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Why am is it not surprising that you just brought a stray animal home with you?" She asked, moving her glasses back into place before meeting my eyes again. There was a long pause, both of us looking at each other as I worried my bottom lip between my teeth.

"Can we keep him?" I asked softly, putting on my best puppy dog eyes. "Pretty please?"

"You know that my parents would kill me if they found out that we had a cat," she said, but her brows were still furrowed, like she was thinking it over.

"Come on, I thought you liked pussy," I teased, making her narrow her eyes at me, but she scoffed to stop herself from laughing as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing her pajamas which was basically just panties and a loose t shirt nowadays. But I personally liked that more than her old look of silky pajamas that covered her completely.

"You're impossible," she said, looking at the cat with soft eyes. "But I suppose… If you promise to take good care of him then we could see how things go." I squealed a little, looking down at the kitten, he was looking up at me with big, curious eyes.

"You are the best girlfriend ever," I said to Tori, kissing her quickly.

"Of course I am, but you still owe me," she replied, giving me the same smirk from that morning. My heart quickened in my chest.

"Oh, yeah," I said softly, feeling myself blush a little. "Just let me get Bongo put away."

"Bongo? Seriously?" Tori said, looking amused.

"Well, that was Chloe's cat's name when we were kids, so I thought it would be nice," I replied with a smile, picking up Bongo's stuff. "He's already litter trained, but we could keep him in the bathroom for tonight so he doesn't get into anything." Tori just nodded, smiling at me before kissing my cheek. She helped me get Bongo set up in the bathroom with his food and water and litter box. It was only five, so it's not like we had to go to bed anytime soon, but Tori seemed rather eager to get started on whatever she had planned, so I went with it. Not that I wasn't excited, because I was, but I was also kind of nervous. We had been having sex for awhile now, but we had never strayed far from the normal stuff. Well, I guess normal is a relative term. But that didn't change the fact that I was shaking a little. I trusted Tori more than anyone else, but sometimes I had no idea what she was thinking.

I followed her into our room, seeing that we had bedding now, which was nice. She must've gone out and bought it while I was at work. It was nothing fancy, which took me off guard. It was just a simple blue and gray comforter with some gray pillowcases, simple and easy to look at.

"I thought that it would be easier to buy something simple at first so that we could go out and buy more stuff tomorrow," Tori said, motioning for me to close the door. I kicked it shut behind me, taking off my shoes and setting them next in the closet.

"That was nice of you," I said, turning around towards the bed to see Tori standing in front of the bed, a smirk on her face. She took a few steps towards me, taking my hand and pulling me close.

"Like you said, I'm the best girlfriend ever," she joked, leaning down to kiss me. The kiss was more passionate than I'd expected, but I went with it, loving the way her lips felt against mine. They were so soft, but in that moment they had me in a death grip and I never wanted to escape. I felt the warmth I'd felt that morning rushing back all at once, making me pull her as close to me as I could. God, she was so perfect. She pulled away for air, her fingers moving up the inside of my jacket until her hands were on my shoulders between the jacket and my t shirt.

"I wanted to try something," she said softly, watching my face as I looked into her eyes. "It's… You can say no."

"Tori," I said, cupping her cheek as I smiled a little, hoping it would reassure her. "I trust you." She laughed softly, shaking her head.

"Let's take this slow, ok?" She said, surprising me a little. I had expected this to be something fast and passionate from the way she'd been acting before, but I guess I was wrong. Not that I was complaining, slow was nice, relaxing, just what I needed after today.

"Ok," I replied, leaning up to kiss her again. She reciprocated immediately, gently moving my jacket off of my shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. I reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up over her head and dropping it to the ground. I let my hands reach for her waist, gently digging my nails into the skin there. She moaned softly, grabbing the belt loops of my jeans and pulling me close, the collision drawing a gasp from me as I bit down on her bottom lip.

When we pulled away, I saw that she hadn't been wearing a bra under her shirt, making me let out a small whimper when I saw her breasts right in front of me. I swallowed dryly, wondering where all of the moisture in my body could've possibly gone. It was almost like it had all decided to move south for the winter. Tori lifted my shirt over my head and I grabbed for her breasts as soon as it was gone. She gasped, moaning as I kissed her hard, moving to kiss her neck and chest.

"You're so beautiful," I said breathlessly, moving her backwards towards the bed. I'm really not sure what came over me, but I felt the sudden urge to be the one in control, just this once. But Tori didn't seem to be protesting, so I laid down on top of her when she fell back on the bed, kissing her neck and sucking at her pulse point.

"Fuck," Tori breathed, digging her nails into my back. I groaned softly, moving my kisses down until I reached her breasts, biting gently at the soft flesh there. She moaned softly, arching herself into my touch. She tugged at the belt loops of my jeans again, pressing us together. "Take these off," she gasped out, forcing me to stop what I was doing so I could climb off the bed and take them off, kicking them across the room. Tori got off of the bed, going to the bedside table and opening the drawer.

"Whatcha got over there?" I asked breathlessly, standing at the edge of the bed in nothing but my bra and panties. I started taking my bra off, deciding that it would make things easier if I just got it off now.

"A little something I bought a week or so ago," she replied, turning to face me again. She was holding a purple dildo in her hand, but it was attached to some sort of harness. "I thought we could try it." What it was suddenly clicked in my head and I felt myself frown a little, my brows furrowing.

"I… Is it cause I don't have a… You know… One of those actually attached?" I asked nervously, feeling self conscious for the first time in awhile while I was with Tori, rubbing my arm with my hand as I looked down at the carpet.

"No, no, no," she said quickly, suddenly looking nervous and concerned. "It's not that at all. I just thought that maybe, if you wanted to, you could use it on me and we could see how it goes." She walked over to me, setting the toy down on the bed and taking my hands in hers. "We don't have to if you really don't want to. I won't be upset." I looked up at her then over her shoulder at the toy that sat on the bed next to a bottle of lube, making me swallow dryly.

"If you want to, then I'm ok with it," I said softly, not so much opposed to using it, I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't because I was bad at satisfying her. "Is it 'cause I'm not good at this kind of stuff?" Tori laughed softly, shaking her head before kissing my forehead.

"Maxine Caulfield, you are the best person I've ever slept with," she said softly, making me laugh a little.

"I'm the only person you've slept with," I replied, feeling myself blush a little at the thought.

"Exactly," she whispered, her eyes soft as she looked into mine. "You're the only person in the entire world that I would want to do this with. You do things to me that I never imagined possible and that's a beautiful thing. If you were doing something, or weren't doing something, I would tell you and we'd work on it, right?" I nodded, smiling a little.

"I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't doing something wrong," I said softly, squeezing her hands a little. She kissed me softly, sending tiny pulses of heats through me as our skin met for a moment.

"You're way better at this than you think," she teased, hooking her thumbs in the waistband of my panties. "So, do you want to try? You could use it on me if you want. That's… Kind of the reason I bought it…" I saw her cheeks go pink, making me laugh a little.

"If that's what you want then I'm down," I replied, watching the smile on her face grow.

"Then take these off and put this on," she said excitedly, watching me take off my panties before handing me the strap on. The weight of it felt strange, but the texture wasn't unpleasant. I put my legs through the straps, pulling it up and hooking it as best I could. Tori had to help me tighten it, but when it was on right, she was just sort of staring at me for a minute, looking me over in a way that made me feel unexpectedly powerful.

"It's not exactly my color, but I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying it," I teased, making Tori blush a little as she crossed her arms under her chest, pressing her breasts together in a way that made my knees feel weak.

"Shut up and kiss me," she said, cupping my cheeks with her hands and pulling me in for a kiss that took the breath from my lungs and set my nerves ablaze. I wrapped my arms around her hips, pressing myself against her. She gasped softly, the dildo pressing against her in a strange way.

"Sorry," I gasped out. "Not used to having one of these." She giggled and pulled away, taking off her panties and throwing them on the floor before grabbing the lube and putting some of it on the purple dildo. Something about the way her hands moved up and down the shaft of it made my heart race and my core quiver with excitement. It wasn't that big, probably about six inches, maybe seven. But it was good that it wasn't huge since Tori and I hadn't really used anything but fingers before.

"Do you want to be on top?" She asked, making me look up into her eyes.

"Do you want me to be on top?" I asked, my voice squeaking a little. There was a glint in her eyes that made me want to pounce on her.

"Is that ok?" She asked. I just nodded, kissing her hard and moving her back until we were on the bed again. I had to stop myself from going too fast. This was new for both of us and even though it was exciting, I didn't want to hurt her. So I went back to playing with her breasts, kissing down her body until I got to her sex, kissing the went, red lips there. Tori gasped, tensing under me.

"Please," she breathed, looking down at me with pleading eyes. "Please, Max." I smiled, kissing back up her body until I was at her lips. I kissed her softly, I grabbed the shaft of the dildo in my right hand, looking down between us as I pressed it to her entrance. She moaned softly, following my gaze.

"Are you ready?" I asked, feeling my heart race from a mixture of excitement and nervousness. She nodded, biting her bottom lip a little as she looked into my eyes. I smiled a little, moving forward slowly, pressing into her as gently as I could. She gasped, closing her eyes and digging her nails into my back. I groaned softly at the sensation, trying to stay focused. "Are you ok?"

"I'm ok, keep going," she gasped out. I pushed a little harder, feeling the head of the dildo make its way past her entrance, causing Tori to let out a long, deep moan that sent a pulse of want through my entire body. I looked down between us, seeing that the strap on was almost buried to the hilt, making me moan softly. I moved forward a little more, getting another moan from Tori. I smiled down at her, seeing her looking up at me with dark eyes and her mouth hanging open a little as her chest heaved. She nodded a little and I started thrusting slowly, looking between us to be sure that the dildo was still inside her.

"Oh my god, Max," she moaned, wrapping her legs around my waist, dragging her nails up my back until they reached my neck. She grabbed a fistful of my hair, bringing me down into a kiss as I thrust into her, one of the straps of the toy rubbing against my clit with each movement. "Harder, please, Max." I lowered my head to kiss her neck, thrusting harder and faster. I felt clumsy and it was difficult to know how well I was controlling each thrust, but by the way Tori was moaning I must've been doing alright.

It was such a huge turn on to see her like this. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, her eyes switching between half lidded and screwed shut, her mouth agape as she gasped and moaned. I could've stayed like this with her forever, but my legs and hips were already getting tired and I knew that Tori was nowhere near finished yet, no matter how much she was enjoying our current situation.

I slowed my pace a little, lowering myself closer to Tori, our skin pressing against each other. The contact just made me feel even warmer as I tried to catch my breath. I could feel Tori's chest heaving beneath me, her breaths brushing against my ear as I laid my head down against the sheet beside her head.

"Do you want me to be on top?" She asked, panting softly as she stroked my hair.

"I just need a second," I said breathlessly, lifting myself up again, looking down into soft green eyes. Tori smirked up at me, flipping us over before I could protest, her hands on both of my shoulders as she pressed me down against the mattress.

"Just lay back and watch me ride you," she whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine as I let out a shaky sigh. Something about the way she said it made my core pulse with heat and desire. She sat up a little, shifting to get herself comfortable again. Before I knew what was happening, she started moving up and down on top of me, rubbing the strap against my clit over and over again in just the right way, her hands laid flat on my tensed stomach muscles to keep her balance as she moved.

"Holy shit," I moaned, tilting my head back as my vision got hazy from the surprising amount of sensations I felt in that moment. I heard Tori's moans growing quicker and louder, chest heaving when I looked up at her. I put my hands on her hips, loving the way her breasts bounced with each movement. She stopped thrusting for a moment, settling down onto the cock and moving her hips back and forth, her hair in complete disarray as she groaned up to the ceiling. She looked down at me, leaning down and capturing my lips in a kiss that made me glad I wasn't standing.

"I love you so much," she breathed, starting to thrust again. "I'm so close, Max. God, I'm so close." My insides burned at the sound of desperation in her voice, making me lift myself up off the bed a little to thrust into her quick and hard.

"Cum for me," I breathed, my hands still on her hips. It didn't take long after that. She cried out, digging her nails into my stomach as she climaxed, her eyes screwed shut.

"Fuck, Maxine!" She cried out, the waves washing over for longer than I'd seen before. When it was over, she laid down on top of me, panting as she closed her eyes, her fingers intertwined with mine beside my head. I smiled down at her, kissing the top of her head as she caught her breath. "Jesus Christ." She sounded totally exhausted, her body still twitching every now and again. I laughed softly, running my fingers up and down her spine.

"Are you ok?" I asked, feeling slightly concerned. She had taken this a bit faster than I would've expected, but she seemed to like it. She nodded, rolling off of me so that the toy was no longer inside her. I propped myself up on my elbow, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"That was amazing," she breathed, opening her eyes too look at me. I smiled down at her, feeling the sudden urge to take care of her in any way I could. I ran my fingertips down her cheek, wondering how I had come to love her so much. How she'd become so beautiful. Why she loved me as much as I loved her. "But I still like when you eat me out more." I felt my cheeks heat up, making me laugh a little and look away.

"You don't have to say that," I replied, getting out of bed and taking the toy off. I'd have to wash it.

"But it's true," she said softly, sitting up in bed and watching me as I picked our clothes up off the floor. I just laughed and shrugged, trying to hide how her words made me want to go at it all over again. She wasn't weak or anything, but after something like that, it's important to not go too crazy. At least, that what I would assume. I picked up her panties and t shirt off the carpet, handing them to her.

"You flatter me," I said softly, leaning in for a kiss. She smiled against my lips, lacing her fingers through my hair as I pulled away.

"Why are we putting our clothes back on?" she asked, her voice low and tired sounding, but also surprisingly alluring. "I still have to get you off."

"I'm fine," I said with a soft smile, kissing her forehead as I stood. "You should get some rest. I'm going to get dressed, wash that thing off and make you dinner."

"Why don't you stay here with me and I can have you for dinner," she suggesed, crawling towards me on the bed, getting up on her knees and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Don't you like when I do stuff to you?" I giggled at the pouty look she got on her face.

"Of course I do," I replied, kissing her softly. "Tell you what, you get dressed and eat dinner with me, then I'll let you have your fun." As much as I wanted it to happen right then and there, I didn't want to push anything. Tori pushed herself too far sometimes. She groaned, but seemed to submit.

"Fine, but I'm going to make you cum so hard that you won't be able to stand for the next week," she said softly, kissing me tenderly before getting up to put her clothes back on. I giggled and put my pajamas on, grabbing the toy and walking into the bathroom to wash it. I was careful to make sure Bongo didn't get out, though. After I was satisfied with how clean it was, I put the toy back into Tori's bedside table then went to wash my hands and make dinner.

Just as I was about to boil the water for some spaghetti, there was a knock at the front door. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, seeing that it was about six. I set the pot of water on the counter and walked to the door, opening it to see two people that I never would've expected to meet for the first time while I was wearing my pajamas.

"You must be Maxine," the woman said, her long blond hair and sharp features making an almost exact image of Victoria. The man beside her was tall with gray hair and a strong jaw, his green eyes looking down at me with one of the most intense stares of all time.

"That's me," I managed, wishing that the floor would swallow me up so that I wouldn't have to endure this moment.

"I'm Amanda and this is my husband, John," she said, giving me the same practiced smile I'd seen Tori use. "We're Victoria's parents."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Victoria's POV

I heard strangely familiar voices out in the livingroom, including Max's voice, but I wasn't sure who the other two were at first. Then I heard a knock on the bedroom door and went to stand just in front of it, but didn't open it right away, just incase.

"Victoria, it's Max, can I come in?" She called through the door. I felt my brow furrow a bit, wondering why she had decided to call me by my full name for one of the first times in forever. I opened the door a little and she burst in, shutting the door quickly behind her. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she had seen a ghost or maybe the devil.

"What's going on?" I asked, feeling nervous suddenly. "Who's out there?"

"It's your parents," she said, making my heart stop completely. Why were my parents here? Why hadn't they called first? How was I supposed to go out there looking like this?

"You can't be serious," I said, moving past her to open the door a little. I peeked my head out, seeing my mother standing in my kitchen, looking over the ingredients that Max had set out to make dinner. My dad was sitting on the couch, leaned back with his arm draped over the backrest like he owned the place. Well, I mean he technically owned the couch and had paid the first few months rent on this place, but still! I closed the door, turning around and looking around the bedroom, my mind whizzing through thing after thing that I had to fix before my parents could even step foot in here.

"What are they doing here?" Max whisper yelled, looking like she was about to pass out. I didn't blame her, this was bad. Well, it would be bad if we didn't play our cards right.

"I have no idea," I said, running to the dresser to put on something that wasn't a pair of panties and a baggy t shirt. "Did they say anything to you about why they were here?"

"No, they just said 'Oh, yes, we're Victoria's parents May we come in, Maxine Caulfield?'" she replied, making me laugh just a little because she had made her voice deeper to do an imitation of my dad. But the amusement I felt faded when I processed what she said.

"Did they wanna check up on us or something?" I asked, turning to look at a terrified Max.

"I don't know, probably," she replied, looking around and picking up her earlier discarded clothing. My stomach clenched when I realized that my hair was probably just as messy as hers, my neck probably peppered with red and purple marks.

"You have to go out there and distract them," I said quickly, grabbing Max and pushing her towards the door by her shoulders. She struggled against me, her eyes wide when I let go of her so that she could turn around to look at me.

"What? No way!" She exclaimed, before I could shoosh her.

"Not so loud," I whispered, trying to think. "I know that you're not exactly their biggest fan right now, but I need you to do this for me. I can't go out there looking like this. I need a minute to make myself look like you and I weren't just going at it in the apartment they rented out for us." Max's expression went from totally horrified to more thoughtful as she looked behind her towards the door then back to me. "Please, Max. We just need to fake it for a little while longer. Then, I swear to you that I'll tell them. Hell, I'll tell them tonight if you go out there right now and start talking to my mom about something." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I'll do it," she finally said, making me run up and kiss her quickly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," I said, kissing her again before turning to go to my dresser. I heard Max groan before walking back out into the livingroom. I heard her apologize and then say that I would be right out.

I don't think I'd ever gotten dressed so fast in my life. I put on a pair of my nicer leggings and a decent t shirt, trying not to look like I'm trying to impress them and more like I had just been around the house. They would probably still find a way to turn that on me, saying something about how I shouldn't laze around all the time and stuff like that. I hadn't spent the whole day lazing around, anyway. In fact, I'd gone to the store to buy bed sheets and stuff for the kitchen as well, along with some towels for the bathroom. Then I had turned in a few applications to some places I might want to work at before coming back to the apartment to study for my summer classes. I was actually really liking my Anthropology class. It was nice to learn something that was pure facts instead of all the wishy washy romantic stuff that they taught us back at Blackwell half the time. I guess that's what happens when you enroll in an art's program.

After I had finished getting dressed, I went into the bathroom through the door that connected it to the master bedroom. I saw something run past my foot and jumped away from it, squealing a little. I looked around to see the cat that Max brought home earlier playing with a bra that was poking out from under the bed. I stomped over, the small kitten looking up at me with big, shimmering eyes as I took the bra away from him. He almost looked like he was pouting.

"Oh, don't give me that look, you little weirdo," I said as I put Max's bra in the dirty clothes hamper. I turned and walked back to the bathroom, looking in the mirror as I debated whether putting makeup on to conceal the red and purple marks on my neck was worth it. As I started to put some makeup on, I felt something rub up against my ankle. I jumped, looking down to see Bongo rubbing his head against my leggings. I tapped my foot against him lightly, moving him away from me before I looked back up at the mirror. After I finished putting my makeup on, I started towards the door the leads into the living room, taking a deep breath. Bongo meowed up at me, his big eyes looking at me like he wanted something from me. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. Leaning down, I picked him up, setting him back in the bathroom and closing the door quickly before he could escape again. Then I made my way to the door, hearing voices coming from the livingroom. I reached for the door knob, not letting myself hesitate as I pulled the door open.

"Victoria," dad greeted me, a smile on his face that made me freeze where I stood. It actually looked genuine for the first time in a long time. "Your mother and I were just having a chat with your friend here. Maxine, was it? She's quite the charmer, you know." I stared over at the three of them in disbelief. My parents were sitting on the stools at the island with two glasses of white wine while Max was stirring tomato sauce at the stove. My eyes met hers and she shrugged, looking almost as dumbfounded as I felt.

"What took you so long to come say hello to us?" mom asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"I was unpacking," I lied, wishing that this whole scene didn't look like something out of a really awful rom com. Dad stood from the stool he'd been sitting in, walking over and wrapping his arm around my shoulders before kissing the top of my head. He was smiling so big that I was sure it must've been fake, but I couldn't tell. This whole thing was really freaking me out now. I still didn't even know what they were doing here.

"Well, you can get back to that later," he said, leading me to the stool he'd been sitting in, having me sit in it now, right next to mom. "Maxine offered to let us stay for dinner, but we settled on some wine instead."

"Why did you guys come here in the first place?" I asked, not realizing I'd said it out loud until I was faced one of my mom's glares. I stood my ground, resisting the screaming urge I felt to run away.

"We just wanted to make sure that the two of you hadn't burnt the place down on your first day," dad teased, ruffling my hair. I could smell alcohol on him, which wasn't unusual, but it was strange how much it seemed to be affecting him. He usually wasn't this affectionate. Or, he hadn't been since I was little, anyway. Sure, he was way more lovey dovey than my mom, but never this much. It was always a little smile or a pat on the shoulder or even a "Love you," every now again, but never this.

"We also came to tell you something, didn't we, John?" Mom chimed in, her words causing my dad's features to fall suddenly.

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot," he muttered, picking up his glass of wine and taking a long swig. The pang of anxiety I'd always felt when my dad drank had become smaller over the years. I always had to remind myself that he was a nice drunk, nothing like Nathan's dad.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to stay as present as possible since whatever this was had spoiled dad's mood so immediately. Max hadn't said a word this whole time. She'd just gone on making dinner, probably wishing she could go hide in her room. Our room. Oh, Christ, hopefully my parents wouldn't want a tour. No, that'd be more a Caulfield thing. My parents probably didn't care about that sort of thing.

"It's about the Prescott boy," dad said, snapping me back into the moment like a broken rubber band. I stared up at him in disbelief, but he wouldn't look at me. "They're giving him a retrial this month and they wanted you and… and Maxine, to be there." A plate fell to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. I looked to Max who was standing by the stove with wide eyes, her face completely pale. I stood up, going around the island to help her, grabbing both her shoulders and looking into her eyes. She looked like she was in a completely different world, her face almost vacant.

"Max, it's ok," I said softly, wishing I could do something to help her. She had been getting better. Slowly, but still better. She didn't have several nightmares a night anymore and she didn't have as many flashbacks. Well, that I knew of, anyway. Usually when she had a nightmare or something, I was able to hold her close or show her that I was still there and that all the things that were happening behind her eyelids weren't real anymore. But now, my parents were here, so I couldn't act like I cared so much. I had to pretend that I wasn't terrified that all the progress she had made would suddenly get thrown away simply because someone decided to give Nathan a second choice.

"Why do they need Max to be there?" I asked, having a hard time keeping the anger out of my voice as I turned to look at my dad. He looked shocked, like he hadn't expected Max to react this way. Granted, he probably didn't, but he should've expected some sort of emotional reaction from the person who had seen her best friend being killed.

"Prescott's lawyers said that without a testimony from the only witness of the actual murder, they can't put him away without reasonable doubt," my mom said, her voice flat and strangely gentle as she stood from the stool. "His father has decided that it would be better not to have his only son in prison. Apparently raising a psychopath is bad for their reputation, but leaving him undefended and trying to erase him is even worse." Max was shaking, but she was frozen where she stood, staring off at something the rest of us couldn't see.

"Max, come on, let's go sit on the couch for a little while," I said softly, taking her hand and leading her towards the couch in the livingroom. She followed me, but didn't say anything as she sat down. I sat down next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, ignoring the way my parent's gazes burnt into the back of my skull. "Why didn't you just call me? I could've told Max myself."

"It's ok, Victoria," Max said softly, sitting up and turning herself a little to look at my parents. "Thank you for telling me. Who should I talk to so that I can get the information I need?" My mom looked right at Max, but my dad couldn't look at any of us, instead deciding that his glass of wine was far more interesting.

"Well, you'll probably need a lawyer, but we can provide you with one if you need it," she offered, taking me off guard. "They suspect that you had a hand in the Price girl's murder since you did not testify against Nathan in his first trial."

"That's fucking ridiculous," I said under my breath, using every scrap of willpower I had in me to stop myself from letting my anger bubble to the surface. "Max had nothing to do with any of that."

"Victoria, please," Max whispered, taking my hand in hers. The backrest was facing away from my parents so that they couldn't see the small gesture, but Max was squeezing my hand a little. "It's ok. It's perfectly understandable that they'd think that I had something to do with Chloe's death. I was there, after all." Her voice sounded so far off, dark, almost broken. I could practically see the memories flash behind her eyes, Chloe's death playing over and over in her head like it always did. She turned to look at my mom again, her gaze almost vacant. "Why do they need Victoria to testify? She wasn't there." I looked over at my parents as they gave each other a look that sent shivers down my spine.

"They want Victoria to testify that Nathan was mentally unstable and that he never would've done anything if he hadn't been provoked by Chloe Price," my mom said, her words making me freeze where I sat.

"I can't do that," I said, but my voice was weak and I felt Max shaking next to me. I had to be strong for Max. I couldn't give in to this shit, not now. "Sure, Nate needed help, but he killed Chloe, I can't stand in the way of him being punished for that. And I won't stand against Max. She had nothing to do with any of this."

"You won't be standing against her," dad replied, finally looking at me. "You'll be standing up for your friend."

"Max is my g-" I caught caught the word in my throat, barely stopping myself from saying it. I felt Max's grip on my hand tighten. "My friend. She's my friend and I care about her. What Nathan did was wrong and I'm not going to stand in the way of him being punished for what he did. I love Nathan, you both know that, but I can't just turn around and say that what he did wasn't his fault." Everyone was quiet for a minute, making me tense up as I looked down at Max's hand, her fingers wrapped around mine. Nathan was my best friend before everything had happened, but after all the things that Max told me, I realized that he wasn't the Nathan I remembered. Or, not outwardly, anyway. My mom cleared her throat and stood and I quickly let go of Max's hand so that mom wouldn't see it as she got to her feet.

"Alright," she said straightening her blouse. "Then we will inform the defense that they won't be able to use you as a witness. We will also provide you with a lawyer, Maxine, if that's alright." Max nodded, smiling weakly as I stood to walk my parents out. I lead them to the door, holding it open for them. Mom paused before she walked out after my dad, not meeting my gaze as she stood in front of me. I could've sworn that her roots were graying, but it was hard to be sure with how light her hair already was. I looked away from her as she tried to meet my gaze.

"Be careful, alright?" She said softly, reaching out and cupping my cheek with her hand, forcing me to look up at her with widened eyes. My mom didn't really touch people unless she had to, the sensation of her cold skin against mine sending chills through me and reminding me of those rare nights that she would rock me back to sleep after I had nightmares as a small child. "I don't want you to be hurt by any of this. Or by anyone involved." She looked over at Max before catching my gaze again, lowering her hand so that it was at her side. "Your friend may not be stable for a while yet." I should've said something. Maybe thanked her or said that I loved her or told her to fuck off and never talk to Max again. But I didn't. I had a hard time finding any words at all in that moment because, for the first time in what felt like forever, my mom actually looked scared.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Max's POV

After Tori's parents left, her and I went back into the bedroom to try and get some sleep. I still had work in the morning, even though Tori tried to insist that I shouldn't go. Just because memories of Chloe and her dying over and over again were becoming much louder and clearer than they'd been that morning, doesn't mean that I should shut down because of them. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't let myself sink back into what I had been before. I had already promised not to let my powers rule my life, I wouldn't let what they made me do control me either.

As I laid in bed with Tori, her arms wrapped around me as we watched an anime that she'd been obsessing over, I let sleep come over me. I had to wake up early for work the next day, anyway, might as well get what sleep I could.

But whatever hope I'd had that I'd sleep peacefully faded as the image of the junkyard came into view. I was standing inside of the little room Chloe and Rachel had taken over. The place was exactly the same, but something felt off about it. But, then again, something always felt off when I was dreaming, like they weren't those sweet, simple echos of reality. Instead, they became rough and sour and part of me wished that I would never dream again, just so that I could stop seeing people I cared about being killed and hurt over and over again.

"Hey there, Super Max." Chloe's voice rang out around me, making me whirl around to see her sitting on that ratty old couch, a cigarette held lazily between her fingers. She was looking me up and down quizzically, sitting up and resting her elbows on her knees and she leaned forward. "You look like shit, man." I couldn't help chuckling at that, giving her a shrug.

"Thanks, good to see you too," I replied, but I knew that it wasn't really her. It was just what my mind wished her to be. Alive.

She got to her feet, walking towards me and then taking a few steps around me before looking me right in the eyes as she stood in front of me.

"Icky Vicky treating you well?" She asked, taking a drag from her cigarette. I hesitated, wondering if I should let my mind keep going with this. It was strange, but it felt nice to talk to her again. Or, an image my mind had created of her, I guess. I smiled a little, nodding.

"Yeah, she's the best," I replied, unsure of what this was about. Was it just my mind trying to help me process what had happened?

"So, they think it was you, don't they?" Chloe asked, catching me a little off guard.

"How did you know that?" I asked, chiding myself as I spoke. She was in my head, of course she knew. This wasn't the real Chloe. She's not real. Chloe chuckled and shrugged, getting to her feet and letting her cigarette fall to the ground without stomping it out.

"I know more than I should nowadays, I guess," she said as she put her hands in her pockets and took a few steps towards me. "I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about all that stuff with that Nathan guy or his parents. It's all gonna be alright, I think. I mean, I can't really tell the future or whatever, but being dead makes time a little weird."

"You say that like I'm not dreaming," I replied with a small laugh, feeling tears gathering in my eyes. I wished that I wasn't dreaming. Chloe just smirked, tilting her head a little.

"Just 'cause you're dreaming doesn't mean I'm not here," she said softly, taking her right hand from her pocket and reaching out to hold my left hand. When her skin met mine the warmth made me jump away, staring at my hand with wide eyes. "See? Freaky shit, right?" I looked up at her, trying to process what had just happened.

"Chloe, what the hell -"

But she interrupted me before I could finish, putting her hands on my shoulders and staring into my eyes.

"It's time to wake up, Max," she said, but her voice sounded almost like she was far away or under water. "Tell Vic I said hi, ok?" And then everything went dark, but I could still feel my heart thudding in my chest as I slept.

"Max." Tori's voice gently broke through my covering of sleep, causing my eyes to clench shut. I groaned a little, knowing somehow that it was way too early to be awake. But then I felt the warmth of Tori's lips against mine, and something in me remembered what being awake with her around was like. I couldn't help smiling a little as I opened my eyes, seeing the most beautiful woman in the world just above me, her short blond hair a bit disheveled from sleep and her bright green eyes filled with what seemed to a mixture of concern and adoration.

"Why are we awake?" I managed to croak out, my voice sounding far too deep and harsh, even to my own ears.

"Because you have work and I'm meeting your lawyer today," she whispered, leaning down and kissing my forehead. "But I wanted to make sure that you had a good breakfast before you left for work, so I made eggs and bacon and even some tater tots." I chuckled a little, watching her gentle seriousness fade into a smile. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I replied, taking in a deep breath and rubbing my eyes. "I was just convinced that you were gonna be my breakfast, but eggs is good too." Tori rolled her eyes, sitting up on top of me with a scoff.

"Barely awake and you're already insufferable," she said, about to climb off of me. But I sat up, wrapping my arms around her waist to keep her where she was before she could move away. The sun hadn't even risen yet and when I turned my head to look at the digital clock, I let out a groan, burying my face in the crook of her neck.

"Why did you wake me up at five?" I whined, pushing down memories of my dream as they suddenly flashed back into my mind. I wouldn't let a dream ruin this moment. This was the first morning Tori and I had in our new home, after all. Couldn't let a made up Chloe and some weird lucid dreaming get in the way of that.

"Because your shift starts at seven and you know that you'd have to be up this early to be on time," she retorted, stroking my hair as she kissed the top of my head. "Now let me go so you can start getting ready." I shook my head, groaning a no into her soft skin.

"You're warm and I'm tired," I said, sounding a bit childish. But, can you blame me? If you woke up to a kiss from a beautiful girl on a cold morning after finding out that you were a suspect in a murder trial, you'd understand.

"If you get up and go to work then we can have all the girlfriend bonding time you want when you get back," she said softly, the hint of smile entering her voice. The sound made me smile right along with her. I looked up at her, not loosening my grip around her waist.

"When you say bonding, you mean what I think you mean, right?" I tried to make my voice as raspy as I could in that moment, my grin growing when I saw a blush crawl onto Tori's cheeks. But there was a glint in her eyes that made my throat go dry.

"Does my sexy little Max want to try more fun things?" She asked, leaning down to kiss me again, but it was a very different kiss than the one I'd woken up to. When she pulled away, it took me a moment to come back to earth, as much as I hated it.

"You - I… I mean," I sputtered, getting a laugh from the grinning woman sitting on my lap. My grip on her must've loosened because she got up and away from me way too easily.

"You know I love when you talk random gibberish to me, dear, but you have to go to work and I have to get ready to meet your lawyer," she said, walking over and opening the door to the bathroom. As soon as she did, Bongo raced out, running to the bed and jumping on top of it. He hopped over to me, meowing adorably as he rubbed his soft head against my hand. I smiled a little, petting him between his ears.

"Mommy is mean, she keeps making me all excited and then leaving me to fend for myself," I said in a baby voice. The words even made me blush a little, but the embarrassed look on Tori's face when I looked up at her was priceless. Why was it so embarrassing to say that to an animal that couldn't even understand what I was saying? Maybe it was because he was a kitten. Poor little guy didn't need to hear that kind of stuff.

"Shut up and get ready for work, Maxine," Tori said, her voice cracking just a little as she walked into the bathroom to get ready. I chuckled, picking Bongo up and setting him to the side before I threw the covers off of myself and climbed out of bed. I walked to the dresser and grabbed a pair of black jeans, my uniform shirt that they'd given me the day before, and a pair of socks to wear with my black converse. I set it all out on the bed, realizing that I probably needed a shower. I groaned, walking over to the bathroom and closing the door when I walked in. Tori was brushing her teeth, looking at me skeptically.

"What are you doing?" She asked as I turned on the shower and started taking off my t shirt. I looked over at her, smiling a little before taking my shirt off and throwing it into the hamper next to the door.

"Can't go to work all stinky," I replied, going to take off my shorts and underwear, throwing them in the hamper as well. They weren't super dirty, but I didn't want to leave them on the floor. "Why? You opposed to seeing me in my birthday suit so early in the morning?" Tori just rolled her eyes, but she was blushing a little. I felt surprisingly bold in that moment. Maybe waking up early made me a bit braver because of how sleep deprived I felt.

"Whatever, Caulfield," she mutter around a mouthful of toothpaste. I smiled, kissing her cheek before stepping into the shower. I showered as fast as I could, knowing that it would be hella bad luck to get to be late on my first day. I wasn't always a very punctual person, but this job was important, so I needed to be on time. I got out and dried off, not really surprised to see Tori still standing in front of the mirror to apply her make up. When I was done drying off, I wrapped the towel around myself and went to wrap my arms around Tori from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder. She looked so concentrated, needing to get every detail just right so that she looked almost impossibly perfect for whoever got to see her that day.

"You're so pretty," I said dreamily, smiling as I watched her face in the mirror. She smiled even after trying to hide it, reaching to grab a tube of lipstick off of the counter.

"You really want to be late for work, don't you?" She asked, uncapping the lipstick and applying it to her lips. I shrugged, relaxing against her as I let myself be mesmerized by the way her lips pursed together, spreading the light pink lipstick over her perfect lips.

"Can't a girl be happy to spend a morning with her beautiful girlfriend?" I asked, kissing her shoulder.

"Stop trying to flatter me and go get dressed," she said, but her voice wasn't as firm as I'd expected it to be. "You can shower me in compliments as soon as you get home." She turned around and smiled at me, kissing me softly before pulling away and walking past me. I hadn't noticed that she'd gotten dressed while I was in the shower. Now, instead of her t shirt and panties, she wore a black skirt that went down to her mid thigh and a silver blouse with the top button undone to show off a bit of skin. I watched her walk away from me, her hips swaying a little. I knew that she was doing it because I was watching her, but that didn't mean I was gonna stop looking. How could everything she wore possibly make her ass look so good all the time? Then again, her ass was just nice as is, maybe the clothes didn't even do anything.

"Maxine." Her firm tone snapped me back into reality and I shook my head, meeting her eyes. "Were you even listening?" Oh shit.

"I… I'm sorry, I spaced out," I replied sheepishly, smiling a little. She just rolled her eyes for the millionth time that morning, but she was smirking a bit.

"Just get ready, for heaven's sake," she said, grabbing a coat off the bed and walking out of our bedroom. I got dressed quickly, waiting to brush my teeth and stuff until after breakfast. After I'd finished getting ready, I refilled Bongo's food and water bowl and put him back in the bathroom, much to his dismay. Then I grabbed my messenger bag that had my stuff in it, including my camera, and followed Tori out to her car.

The air was surprisingly cold for a summer morning and Tori was definitely feeling the effects. She blew air into her cupped hands then rubbed her arms as her shoulders tensed and bunched up until they were practically blocking her ears from the cool breeze. I couldn't help giggling a little as we hopped into her car and she immediately turned on the heater and seat warmers. When the warm air hit whatever parts of her skin had been exposed to the cold, she sighed happily, sinking into the warming leather seat.

"Why do we always live places where it's cold?" She asked, putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the apartment complex. I smiled, shrugging as I sat back in the passenger seat, enjoying the warmth of it. Even though I liked when it was cold, it was too early to enjoy it. Especially when my hair was still wet from my shower.

"Better than living in Arizona or Texas," I replied, looking out the window to watch the sleeping world. Except, not everyone was sleeping. We passed more cars than I would've expected, probably people going to work. I even saw a few joggers with their little reflective outfits to make sure we could see them since it was still dark out. The sun was starting to rise, but its light hadn't made it past the mountains on the horizon.

"Ok, better question then: why do all the people who have money and class live in places where it's cold?" She asked, making me laugh a little. She started laughing along with me and I was honestly surprised that we could be so civil so early in the morning.

"You realize that you just called me someone who has money and class, right?" I joked, watching her scoff in amusement.

"Only because my class has rubbed off on you and I'm your girlfriend so I get to buy you things," she replied, using that kind of babyish sounding voice she liked to use when she teased me or decided that she wanted to make sure I knew how cute she thought I was.

"You spoil me," I joked, kissing her cheek. "Who would've guessed that I'd be dating the prettiest girl in all of the west coast, let alone that she actually wanted to buy me things or liked me." We pulled up to the school that my first shift was at and Tori put the car in park, leaning over the center console to kiss me softly.

"I don't like you," she said, smirking a little and pulling me in for another kiss by the collar of my uniform shirt. It was more passionate this time, waking me up while also filling my entire body with so much warmth that I was pretty sure I'd never need to use a heater again. "I love you," she said as she pulled away, letting go of my collar and nodding to the passenger side door. "Now get out of here so that you can come home. Try not to worry about what my parents said yesterday, ok?" I opened my mouth to say something, but she held up her finger in front of my face to stop me, staring into my eyes. "I'm going to take care of it, alright? So don't even bother stressing. When you get home, everything will be right as rain and we'll be able to suffer through the beginnings of adulthood in peace." I smiled despite myself, kissing her cheek.

"I love you so much," I said, moving to get out of the car. "Be safe and don't scare the lawyer too shitless." She chuckled, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes that I couldn't have missed even if I tried.

"I'll do my best to behave," she said as I got out of the car. I rolled my eyes, smiling as I closed the door and watched Tori drive away. As she turned a corner, I let out a sigh, wondering how I'd gotten so luck but also so unlucky at the same time. I thought the things that had happened at Blackwell were finally behind me, but then Nathan and the Prescott family were suddenly back in my life, hammering away at the fragility of my mental state in that moment.

But then I thought about Tori and my new job and how, after the trial was over, things would be just fine. Plus, I didn't have much time to worry because I heard Kate's voice from behind me, making me jump a little. She giggled and I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Oh, hey, Kate," I greeted her, loving the fact that she looked so happy and enthusiastic despite having woken up so early in the morning. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm good," Kate replied, hugging herself a little and rubbing her arms to keep warm. "It's a bit chilly, though."

"Yeah, you should've seen the look on Tori's face when we left the apartment this morning," I said, again wishing that I didn't have to wait until after work to see her. Kate smiled, laughing a little.

"Speaking of Victoria, how are things living with her and all?" She asked, her smile remaining but a slightly more serious tone entering her voice. I'd be concerned for my friend too if she was living with someone who'd bullied her and many others back at Blackwell, but Tori was sort of different now. Not completely, she was still kind of snappy sometimes and stubborn as hell, but she was willing to bring her walls down more now and show me parts of herself most people never saw. That's part of what made Tori so strange and often made people judge at first glance, I guess. She had so many masks on at a time that it was hard to tell when she was being herself. I was one of the lucky few who actually got to see Tori with her guard down. It was weird sometimes because it was so out of the ordinary, but it was definitely more exciting and adorable than anything.

"Things are going really well," I replied, feeling myself starting to smile too much as I blushed a little. Thinking about Tori always seemed to make me feel a little lighter and a bit dazed, but I loved it. "We actually got a cat yesterday." Kate beamed, making an aw sound as she clasped her hands together.

"Max, that is so adorable," she exclaimed, her eyes bright. Kate had always loved all types of animals, not just her little bunny, Alice. "Do you have any pictures?"

"Not right now, unfortunately." Saying those words almost felt unnatural since I was so used to taking pictures of whatever I could. Granted, I'd had… other things happening at the time, but still. "Tori and I got distracted and then her parents showed up out of nowhere. But you and Dana should totally come over this weekend and meet the cat and see the apartment. I haven't seen Dana in forever and you and I still need time to catch up."

"Oh, yes, definitely," Kate replied, smiling so big that I couldn't help smiling back. I hadn't seen Kate like this in awhile. Not since before what'd happened to her at that Vortex Club party. Being out of Blackwell and with Dana must have really been helping her. "Just text me the time and address to your place and Dana will be there in no time." I was about to reply when I saw my boss, Angela walking towards us from the building that looked like the main office of the school.

"Good morning, ladies," she said, her lips quirked up in a smirk that made me shiver a little. She was completely terrifying to me and I couldn't quite figure out why. She was wearing bright red lipstick along with a pair of black jeans that were probably way too tight to actually wear, along with the standard blue uniform shirt we were supposed to wear.

"Good morning, Miss Marshal," Kate said with a smile. Angela laughed, shaking her head.

"Please, call me Angie, or Angela at least," the tall woman replied, holding out two name tags. One said Maxine and the other said Kate, pictures of us just above the names. "You'll need these. Make sure that you wear them to every shoot that we do." I nodded, taking my name tag and clasping it to my shirt so that people could see it.

The van full of the photography equipment showed up moments later and we all made to unload it. It took a total of twenty minutes to get all the equipment out of the van and set up, not counting the small teaching moments where Angela or the other photographer, Bryan, had to show Kate and I how to set everything up. The whole time I just hoped that I would be able to remember everything. It was all so much measuring and making sure that nothing broke while also trying to be quick. Luckily, I knew how most of the stuff worked and how to set it because the classes I'd taken at Blackwell, so I ended up impressing Bryan a little.

Bryan was hella tall, his dark hair spiked up with gel to make him look even taller. I swear, I would've thought he was at least seven feet tall if he hadn't told me that he was only six foot six. He had darker skin and a smile that would've caused most people to swoon almost immediately. Luckily, I had a sexy, smiling girlfriend already, so I felt pretty much immune to his charm. Was it charm? I'm not sure. He was surprisingly clumsy for someone who looked like he kicked ass in every sport ever for most of his life. I ended up working with him for the day, assisting with grabbing papers from teachers while also posing kids and making sure they looked somewhat decent for their ID pictures. It was all surprisingly intense. The room echoed with loud, laughing voices as boys and girls alike struggled to fix their hair and tried to make themselves look perfect for a picture that they wouldn't even have for a full year. They were just lucky that this wasn't their driver's license picture, that thing stayed with you for several years until your license expired.

By the end of the day, I was completely exhausted and hella ready for an afternoon of relaxation with a certain blond haired lady, but when I walked outside where she said she'd be to pick me up, she wasn't there. So I called her, more concerned by the fact that she was late than anything else.

"Hey," she answered after three rings, sounding just as exhausted as I felt.

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked, looking over at Kate who had decided to walk me to where I thought Tori would be, saying that she had parked in the same place anyways.

"Oh god, Max, I'm so sorry," she said, letting out a sharp sigh. I could just imagine her running her fingers through her hair in frustration and it made me a little nervous. "This meeting is taking way longer than I thought it would. I don't know when it will be over."

"Tori, it's like two in the afternoon and you've been there since seven thirty," I replied, wishing that the idea of her talking to some lawyer for so long didn't make me totally nervous.

"I'll explain later," she replied, sounding more worried than I was used to. Tori rarely let down that confident facade. "Are you going to be able get a ride home?" I looked over to Kate and she smiled sweetly at me.

"Yeah, I think so," I said, feeling kind of guilty thinking that I'd have to ask Kate for a ride. She probably had better things to do than drive me home. "Are you gonna be ok? Do you need me to meet you there?"

"Do I need you to come to a boring meeting that might go on for another few hours so that I have to deal with you bouncing your leg and looking like a deer in the headlights? I love you, Max, but I doubt that would be helpful right now." She sounded tired, but there was no bite behind her words and I couldn't help smiling a little. She was right, really. I hated having to do things like that, especially when those things involved people investigating me for my best friend's murder.

"Ok, I'll see you at home then," I said, wishing that I could help in some other way. Maybe I'd make Tori her favorite dinner tonight and we could watch one of her favorite animes or something. "We'll have a nice, relaxing night after a long day of work and legal gargane."

"That sounds amazing," she replied and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Maybe we can open that bottle of wine Taylor sent us and get silly." I felt my cheeks heat up as I laughed, hoping that Kate hadn't heard Tori. She wasn't on speaker, but you never know, phone conversations could be weirdly loud sometimes.

"Maybe," I said, looking over at Kate again who was watching a few leaves get picked up by the breeze and twirled around before they were blown away. "You should get back to your meeting. I'll find a way home."

"Ok, love you."

"Love you too," I replied, ending the call and smiling nervously at Kate.

"Is everything ok?" She asked, looking slightly concerned even though she was still smiling a bit.

"Yeah, Tori just got stuck in a meeting," I replied. "Would you mind giving me a ride home?"

"Oh, of course," she said excitedly. "Maybe I could meet Bongo and you can show me your place." I smiled, nodding as we walked to Kate's car.

"For sure," I replied, admiring the way the silver cross that hung from her rearview mirror shimmered in the light as I sat down in the passenger seat. "It would be nice to hang out and catch up a bit."

Kate drove me home, telling me about some of the adventures of being an art student and how much fun it all was. It was nice listening to her talk about all of that stuff because she just seemed so excited about it all. By the time Kate had left the apartment and I started making dinner, I had almost forgotten about everything that I'd been told the day before.

Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad if I had people like Tori and Kate and Dana around to help me through it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Victoria's POV

After dropping Max off at work, I drove to my parent's house on the outskirts of the city. They had decided to have the meeting there since my parents would be the ones paying for the lawyer. I really wasn't sure why they had decided to do that, but I wasn't going to question it a whole lot if it meant that Max got the help she needed.

There were two cars parked next to my parents' cars, but I didn't recognize them. I figured that they probably belonged to the lawyer and someone else they needed to come to the meeting. I got out of my car and walked up the corral driveway to the large double doors that I remembered all too well. This had been the house I grew up in, so coming back as the adult I was now felt strange. Like I was suddenly a mismatched piece of furniture or a stain on the white tile floor.

I hesitated in front of the huge, dark wooden doors, wondering if I should knock. I mean, I had lived here for most of my life, so it's not like I really had to knock. But if I didn't, my parents might see it as me thinking that I was more important than I really was. If I did knock, they might see it as me going soft, becoming weak after years of hardening my resolve. I took a deep breath, deciding that it was far more advantageous to show strength than it was to show weakness when it came to my parents. Turning the silver doorknob, I swung the door open, doing my best to look more comfortable than I felt. When I walked over the threshold, I felt myself becoming that little ten year old girl with braces and big, thick glasses, my long hair messy and awful looking.

As hard as it might be to believe, I hadn't always been as put together I was now. I was that kid at school who no one really paid attention to unless they wanted to pick on me. It had been a long time since I'd felt this way. I felt small, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the long entry hallway as I stepped to a beat that I'd decided sounded confident, but not overly so. Part of me hated coming back here because I knew that it wasn't the sort of place I considered my home. I hadn't really considered anywhere I'd lived to be my home. Well, at least not in the sense that it made me feel safe or welcome, because it didn't. This castle of a house had never felt safe to me. Truthfully, I hadn't felt like I had a home until I went to Blackwell, but that was nothing compared to what I felt now that I had Max to wake up to everyday. If she were here, maybe I wouldn't being hiding the fact that I was shaking or pushing down all the anxieties that I'd felt since I was young.

"Victoria, is that you?" Mom's voice called from the livingroom.

"Yes, it's me," I called back, walking towards the room and standing in the doorway, waiting to be invited in.

"You've met Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield, haven't you?" Mom asked, my eyes widening as I turned my head to see Max's parents sitting on one of the couches, smiling weakly at me. I cleared my throat, smiling back at them as genuinely as I could.

"Yes, we met at graduation," I said, walking over to shake their hands, but Mr. Caulfield got to his feet and pulled me into a tight bearhug before I could react. It made me smile, though, and I hugged him back, begging my tense shoulders to loosen a fraction as not to seem rude.

"It's great to see you again, Victoria," Mr. Caulfield said, letting go of me and smiling down at me. "How have things been at the Chasefield house?" I quirked an eyebrow at him, looking to Mrs. Caulfield who laughed, shaking her head.

"It's his new name for the two of you," she explained. "He thought it was cute."

"Because it is," Mr. Caulfield said boldly, his voice even more booming against the hard, white walls. "Plus, it's easier than saying the Chase and Caulfield residence." I laughed softly, blushing a little. It sounded like a ship name Max would give to characters in the shows and movies we watched.

"Oh, well I don't mind it," I replied as graciously as I could without bursting out laughing at the confused look on my mom's face. "Things have been going quite well, we've pretty much settled in already."

"It probably wasn't hard to adjust since you two have already lived in a dorm together for a year," Mrs. Caulfield commented as Mr. Caulfield sat back down on the couch. He really was a monster of a man. I could hear the sound of creaking wood from the couch as he shifted.

"Her guitar playing and endless indie music doesn't bother you too much, I hope," Mr. Caulfield added as he smiled up at me. I laughed, shaking my head.

"It's actually kind of nice," I replied, and it wasn't a lie. Max's music was a lot more calming than mine was. Plus, we hadn't really had a chance to play much music at home yet. We hadn't even used the TV in the livingroom yet since we had one in our room.

"I had just been telling Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield about the situation Max is in," my mom interjected, bringing the mood back down to an even lower level than I was used to in this house.

"Right," I muttered, looking between the Caulfields. "I'm really sorry that Max had to get pulled back into this. She doesn't deserve that."

"Which is why we've offered to pay for her lawyer," my mom added, resulting in a very shocked looking Caulfield couple. They looked to each other and then back to my mom, Mrs. Caulfield holding Mr. Caulfield's hand tight as she spoke.

"That's really not necessary," she replied. "Isn't there a way that we can just get her out of the trial all together? Why do they need to her in it to begin with?" There was a pause. I knew the reason. So did my mom. But neither one of us wanted to tell these people that their daughter was a murder suspect. My mom sighed, her features falling from their normal disconnected hardness to a soft frown, one that I hadn't seen her wear in a long time.

"The Prescott family has suffered a lot of bad press for Nathan's actions," she began, wringing her hands together in her lap. "So they've decided to help Nathan out of the mess he's made by having their lawyers target the only witness."

"They think Max had something to do with what he did to Chloe?" Mr. Caulfield asked, holding his wife's hand as she held back tears. "That's bullshit! Max and Chloe were best friends, she would never hurt someone she cared about. Hell, Max wouldn't hurt anyone."

"I know," my mom said, the softness in her tone catching me slightly off guard. She was being surprisingly gentle with this whole thing and I couldn't figure out why. "Which is why my husband and I have decided to do everything we can to help your daughter through this. We've found her an excellent lawyer and we have a private investigator looking into every detail we pick up and every scrap of evidence the Prescotts try to use against her." My mom leaned forward, keeping Mrs. Caulfield's eyes locked with hers. "Your daughter is going to be just fine. We won't let the Prescotts win this one." The quiet ferocity in her tone made me shiver a little, sending goosebumps up and down my arms. My mom's anger wasn't like mine or my dad's. It was less like a storm and more like a snake or a spider. In a storm, you could see the clouds in the distance, gauge how much time you had to get away. But when you pissed off a snake, you usually had no idea it had even existed until it was biting you, every drop of venom killing you slowly from the inside out.

"Thank you," Mr. Caulfield said, his eyes glimmering with tears. "We really can't thank you enough." My mom smiled a bit then, even her eyes looked happy in a way. I froze as her gaze met mine, the gentle smile becoming a more knowing expression.

"Well, she's obviously one of Victoria's close friends," she replied, looking over to the Caulfields again. "Any close friend of Victoria's is practically family to us."

I was so shocked that I couldn't even say that this whole things sounded weirdly out of character for my mom to say. It made me nervous and suspicious, but I didn't have time to voice any of my thoughts on the subject because the lawyer and my dad walked in. We all moved into the lounge because there was a big coffee table there that the lawyer could put papers on. We started the meeting and I could've sworn that the whole thing went on for days. It wasn't so much that it was boring, it was just that there was so much information to remember. I had to take notes on it all so that I wouldn't forget.

It wasn't until my phone started ringing that I remembered the I was supposed to pick up Max. I stepped into the hall and explained to her why I was late. I felt so bad that I couldn't leave to pick her up. Well, mostly because I knew that if I left to pick her up, I'd have to bring her back here for the rest of the meeting and I knew for a fact that she really wouldn't want that. I was kind of surprised when she said that she could get dropped off here, but I told her that her being here might not be such a good idea. Mostly because I didn't want her to get overwhelmed by everything. I decided that her and I would just go over it tomorrow and try to relax tonight. She had the day off work and I didn't have class until that night, so we could go over it when we'd spent some time together and try to ignore what few responsibilities we had.

So I went back to the meeting and it went on for another few hours. It wasn't really over until about four in the afternoon because we'd decided to have lunch and that had taken some time as well.

"Victoria," my mom called after me as I walked out the door. I stopped, turning to see as she made her way over to me, a single wrinkle in the middle of her forehead giving away her nervousness as she got close. "I wanted to ask if you and Maxine would like to go out to brunch this saturday. It would be just the three of us since your father is going away on business, but I thought that it might be a good idea for us to become better acquainted with your friend." I felt my brow furrow as I looked over my mom's features. She looked strangely sincere. Not fully, obviously, because she was holding something back, but she still looked like she actually wanted to talk to Max.

"Why?" I asked, unable to stop myself. I'd been holding that question in all day and it was driving me crazy. Why were my parents suddenly so interested in Max? Mom let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes a little. I felt a shiver go through me when I realized that I did the same exact thing to Max almost every single day. Did it make her feel like I wasn't taking her seriously?

"Well, you two are living together, so you must be close," she said, acting like it was an obvious and satisfying answer, which it wasn't. I kept silent, watching her carefully for a moment. Finally, she let out a sigh and I could practically see the way her guard dropped a fraction. "I just want to be sure that Max is a good influence on you. She seems very… Free spirited." My mom looked strangely dejected in that moment and it made me feel sick to my stomach. I wanted to ask her when she started caring who was a good or bad influence on me, but I stopped myself, taking a deep breath.

"Fine," I finally said. "But please don't call her Maxine, she hates that." My mom stood up tall again, a fraction of a satisfied smirk on her face and she nodded, looking almost down her nose at me, which wasn't as easy as it had been when I was young.

"Good, we'll sort out the details tomorrow," she said. I waved my hand at her dismissively as I turned to get in my car. I was too tired to care much at that point.

Overall, I was relieved when I was allowed to go home, but I was also scared because, now that the meeting was over, this whole thing was really happening. Max was going to have to go to court and fight for others to believe that she had nothing to do with Chloe's death. Even though I knew pretty well that she didn't even believe her own innocence. She had been the one to decide to let Chloe die in order to save Arcadia and all the people in it when she could've just let us all die.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks as I got into my car. I sat back in my seat, letting out a shaky breath as I realized that, in a way, Max had given up her best friend, the woman she was in love with, so that people like me and Nathan and Courtney and Taylor and all of those people that might not have even noticed her could live. In the timeline she'd described to me, Jefferson had killed me. He had taken Nathan and I hostage and killed us both.

I wondered why Max had given Chloe up to save people who, as far as she knew, hated her. I knew that she hadn't given Chloe up for just me, she'd done it to save hundreds of lives while only sacrificing one. The kicker was that the one person she'd sacrificed hadn't been some random person that she'd never met. The person she'd sacrificed was her best friend.

I sped home, holding back the tears I felt stinging my eyes. It took far too much patience for me not to just run every red light and pass the slow ass truck that decided to take surface streets for a day. When I finally got back to the apartment, I parked my car and practically ran inside. When I closed the front door behind me, I was hit by the sound of soft guitar music and a voice I could've sworn was Max's singing. She was sitting on the couch in the living room, her strumming and singing stopped as she looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey, how was the meeting?" She asked, setting her guitar to the side. I felt my chest clench so tightly that it hurt, my ability to hold back my tears failing as I watched her. Max was just so damn beautiful. She looked so outwardly calm, her silver eyes watching me carefully as her lips were tugged up into a sweet smile. Her features fell when she saw the look on my face, getting to her feet to walk over to me. But before she could take a step, I walked over to where she was, cupping her cheeks in my hands and pulling her into a kiss that made my knees weak and set my entire being on fire. It felt so good that it hurt, but it gave me the ability to keep kissing her until my lungs burned. I felt her go almost limp against me, kissing me back as she pulled my closer by my hips. I was panting when I pulled away and Max looked like she was going to pass out.

"What was that for?" She breathed, moving her hand up to wipe a tear off of my cheek. Her features went from a sleepy sort of shocked arousal to concern. "What's the matter?"

"I'm just so lucky to have you around," I whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace. She chuckled against me, kissing my neck and pressing the side of her face to my shoulder.

"Was the meeting really that bad?" She asked softly and I felt guilt hit me like a ton of bricks. I rubbed up and down her back, kissing the top of her head.

"No," I replied. "It was just long. I just missed you so much and I really don't want you to have to go through all this stupid, political bullshit." She laughed, pulling away to look up into my eyes.

"Don't worry," she said with a surprisingly calm smile on her face. "It'll be just fine. Plus, I have you and that's so much more than I could ever deserve." I tensed a little at her words. Did she really believe that?

"Max, you can't really believe that," I said softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You deserve every single bit of happiness that life has to give. And if I'm one of the things that makes you happy, than I'm the lucky one. The luckiest girl in the whole wide world." She smiled up at me, but her eyes looked almost pained, ancient. Sometimes I wondered what her abilities did to her soul. Did it make her mind age faster?

"You're so cheesy," she teased, running her fingers up my sides in a way that covered me in goosebumps. Then I felt her fingers start to gently tickle my sides, making me giggle uncontrollably as I fell onto the couch in an attempt to escape.

"Max, stop!" I laughed, my eyes screwed shut as they filled with tears and it got harder to catch my breath. She finally stopped, but only because she was kissing my entire face.

"But you're so adorable," she teased, looking into my eyes with a sweet smile that made my heart race a little. I huffed in amusement, fidgeting underneath her.

"I am not adorable," I protested weakly, reaching up and gently tangling my fingers in her soft hair.

"I beg to differ," she replied, a silly grin on her face. I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself from smiling despite myself.

"You must be blinded by love, Caulfield," I said softly, pulling her in for a long, lazy kiss. She smiled against my lips and I sighed blissfully. This was what I was fighting for now. Max, the woman I trusted more than anyone else, my family. I had to make sure that she was ok and that she made it through this. She was strong, stronger than anyone I'd ever known, so I knew that she'd be ok, but no one could take on the world alone.

"You're one to talk, four eyes," she whispered when she pulled away, smirking down at me. I laughed softly, shaking my head.

"Shut up and help me find that wine I talked about earlier," I said, shoving her up and off of me a little. She giggled and followed me into the kitchen.

We spent the rest of that night drinking wine and cuddling on the couch with the TV on in the background. We had dinner eventually, but not until after had gotten sufficiently tipsy. We ended up just ordering pizza so that nothing got set on fire. It was a good night, surprisingly relaxing, even. It was well past midnight before we went to bed that night, but that was ok. It was nice to just spend time together for a little while without having to worry what we'd have to do the next day.

But when I woke up the next morning with a hangover and a text from an anonymous number, I realized that I might not get a chance to have a night like that with Max for awhile.

" _Tell your girlfriend to meet me for coffee today at noon. You should come along too, we have some business to discuss."_


	7. Chapter 7

Max's POV

Tori had shown me the mysterious text that morning, bringing memories crashing back to the forefront of my mind. Memories of walking into my room to see my wall vandalized and texts from unknown numbers popping up on my phone, telling me to watch my back. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as I tried to keep the panic rising in my chest under wraps. This couldn't actually be happening, right? This was all just some sort of nightmare or sick joke somebody was pulling on me. Maybe Chloe had faked her death just to fuck with me now when I thought my life was finally getting back to something that resembled normalcy.

"What do you want to do about this?" Tori asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up at her, seeing the concern in her dark green eyes causing more sympathy and affection to rise up than anything else. She was trying really hard to stay calm. She'd never been in this sort of situation before and she was probably out of her element.

"Did you try texting back?" I asked. "Maybe we can tell whoever this is to fuck off and leave us in peace."

"I tried, the message never went through," she replied, looking frustrated. "I tried over and over again but it just wouldn't send."

"What do you think we should do?" I asked, my mind feeling foggy as the cogs refused to turn. Tori paused, looking at me in surprise. She'd been pacing in front of the bed before, her phone clutched in her hand as she spoke. She was even dressed like she'd tried to get ready for the day to distract herself. But now she had stopped pacing and was looking at me like I had just asked her to divide pie by three.

"I…" She started, but stopped, looking at the floor and taking a deep breath. "I think you should choose. Whoever they are, they want to talk to you."

"I don't know what to do," I admitted, slouching where I sat in our bed, my hair draping around my face. I really had no idea what to do. Best case scenario, it was someone who wanted to help us with Chloe's case. Worst case scenario, it was someone Prescott had hired to "take care of us." Which was unlikely, but wouldn't be surprising. I couldn't help chuckling at the thought, shaking my head as I buried my face in my hands. "I just want this to be over." I felt a lump growing in my throat, my chest tightening as I fought the tears that stung my eyes.

I felt the bed dip as Tori sat next to me, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close. I clutched at her blouse, burying my face in her chest as she kissed the top of my head. She stroked my back, the gentle rhythm loosening my hold on my emotions as tears fell from my eyes.

"I know," she whispered, stroking my hair as I let out a sob. I hated this, this seemingly endless nightmare where everything bad that was happening to me and the people around me was all my fault and even though I had been the one to cause it all, I couldn't stop it no matter how hard I tried. I'd let my best friend die in order to save Arcadia, I'd sworn to never use my powers again and I'd just tried to be normal. But even now, when life was supposed to be about becoming whoever I was supposed to be, the universe or God or the world or whoever the fuck it was, was tormenting me. Using my every last mistake to show me just how helpless I really was. "It'll be over soon, I promise. And no matter what happens, I'll be right here to support you as much as I can." I sniffled, my chest aching from crying so hard. But Tori's voice and the feeling of her holding me tight were enough to help me remember what it was that I was suppose to keep fighting for.

I nodded, pulling away a little to look into her eyes. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I sniffled, seeing the way Tori's brows furrowed and her eyes watched me like I might shatter. I smiled despite myself, taking her hand in mine. Her feature relaxed a little, but she still looked worried.

"I think we should go see who this is," I decided, trying to sound more confident in the choice than I felt. "If we don't and it's someone with some sort of power over the trial, it might make our lives much more difficult."

"Are you sure?" Tori asked, cupping my cheek as she wiped away a stray tear. "I don't want you to have to face something like that right now."

"It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice," I replied, leaning into her touch. Tori always had cold hands, but it was nice, the smoothness of her palm felt soothing against my skin. "Plus, we'll go together. That way you can kick their ass if they're actually an assassin." It took Tori a moment, but she caught on that I was joking and chuckled, shaking her head as she started to stand up.

"You're impossible," she teased. I grabbed her wrist, stopping her from walking away as I got up on my knees, still on the bed. She turned, looking at me expectantly. I scooted closer to her, pouting just a little.

"But you still love me, right?" I asked, moving my fingers from her wrist to her hand. She smiled sweetly at me, her features relaxing as she turned to face me, taking my other hand in hers.

"It's impossible not to," she replied. As happy as she looked, there was still a heaviness behind her eyes that told me that she had doubts about today lingering in her mind. I didn't want her to be afraid of whatever we had to face, because no matter what it was, we'd be facing it together. Sharing the weight until it was over.

"Even when I make puns?" I teased, pulling her a little closer. She laughed softly, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, even when you make puns, even if it feels like climbing Everest in nothing but a bikini," she retorted, making me giggle despite myself.

"I'll just have to start calling you the ice queen, I guess," I replied and she looked like she was resisting another eye roll.

"Are you ever going to get dressed or are you just going to tease me all morning?" She asked, but there was no firmness behind it, just a smile and the constant need to kiss her sparking to life in my chest again.

"I don't know, this is kinda fun," I said softly, leaning in to kiss her. She leaned in at the same moment, our lips meeting with a gentle heat that sent shivers down my spine and loosened every muscle in my body. I smiled into the kiss, loving that her lips were mine to kiss for the time being. I just hoped that the time being would turn out to be forever.

"You just want to distract me," she accused, but she was smiling despite her words.

"You like when I distract you, don't pretend like you don't," I said, wrapping my arms around her neck to pull her into another kiss. She didn't resist, her arms simply wrapping around my waist as she leaned in closer to me. I pulled her down with me, making her lay down on top of me. It felt awkward at first and Tori let out a surprised yelp as she tried to hold herself up. I giggled, letting her fidget until she got comfortable.

"You should get dressed," she said somewhat breathlessly, her cheeks a little flushed. I smirked up at her, tangling my fingers in her perfectly done hair. It was always so soft, probably because of all those hella expensive soaps and conditioners she used.

"But that's so not what I want to be doing right now," I protested, grinding myself against her thigh that just so happened to be between my legs. She let out a small, shaky breath and I had to hold in my own gasp from the small spark of pleasure the friction ignited in my gut.

"Is this how you deal with stress?" Tori asked, looking weakly resistant. I shrugged, smiling up at her.

"Would you prefer I smoke or something?" I asked, moving my left hand down her back until I found the hem of her blouse, lifting it to gently drag my nails across her skin. She closed her eyes, rocking above me for a moment before clearing her throat and meeting my gaze again.

"No, I just think it'd be healthier if you took up something like yoga or taking more pictures with that dinosaur of a camera you insist on lugging around," she retorted, leaning down to kiss me again. It was soft, gentle, hesitant.

"But you're so much more beautiful than any image I could ever capture with a camera," I whispered against her lips, loving the shivering breath it drew from her. I took that moment as an opportunity, flipping us both so that she was on her back and I was on top of her, straddling her hips as I leaned down to kiss her again. She gasped into my mouth and I smiled, pulling away from her lips to kiss her jawline, leaving small bites as I made my way to her neck.

"Max," she whispered breathlessly, tangling her fingers in my hair.

"I never thought I would be so lucky," I whispered against her skin, the love and adoration I'd felt for her before flooding over me again. "I never thought I'd end up with someone like you. You're so smart and determined and amazing." I kissed up her neck until I reached her ear, biting it softly. Tori whined beneath me, pressing herself against me. "So beautiful," I whispered into her ears, feeling her shudder beneath me. I wanted her to know how much I loved her, to know how much she meant to me. She was always there, supporting me, keeping me strong. I had never expected it from her until I'd gotten to know her. Now she needed to know that she was loved, appreciated. That I cared more about her than anything else.

 _That's what you said about Chloe,_ my thoughts whispered, making me tense up immediately and pull away from the woman below me. Tori opened her eyes, looking up at me with a concerned, hazy gaze.

"Max? Are you ok?" She asked, watching me carefully. "What's wrong?"

"I - I'm sorry," I muttered, climbing off of her and getting off of the bed. "We should get ready to go." She sat up and opened her mouth to say something, but I turned away, walking to the dresser to grab something to wear. Dread crawled up my spine like ice, making my stomach churn as images of Chloe flashed through my mind. This had rarely been an issue before. Why was I suddenly so afraid?

"Are you sure you're ok?" Tori asked, wrapping her arms around me from behind. "You seemed really… You know… Did I do something wrong?" The way her voice fell to little more than a whisper made my heart ache. I wanted to say no, I wanted to tell her the truth, tell her that she was perfect and I was the one who'd done something wrong. I was the one who'd let her get close to me and now she might get hurt. What if she ended up like Chloe? What if, even after all this time, I was still only able to cause death and destruction to everyone that came near me?

"I just remembered that we're supposed to meet whoever sent that text, that's all," I lied, but it sounded true, even to my own ears. Tori's grip around me loosened and I felt tears start to well up in my eyes again. What was I supposed to do? I had to keep her safe somehow.

"Alright," she said simply, leaving a long, sweet kiss against my cheek before pulling away. "I'll be waiting in the living room for you."

"Ok, I'll be out in a minute," I said softly. She left the room, closing the door behind her, but not before I felt her eyes linger on me for another moment. When I heard the door click closed, I put my hands on the dresser, trying to take deep breaths as tears pricked at my eyes. I had to stay calm. I had to be strong. Tori needed that. She needed to be safe. Maybe she was safer without me.

The thought tore my heart to pieces inside my own chest, but I couldn't help the thought and I didn't even try to stop it. She needed to be safe and if that meant that I had to leave, then that's what had to happen. Right?

So, in that moment, even as tears streamed down my face and my chest clenched painfully from silenced sobs, I made a choice. Until the trial was over, I couldn't be with Tori.


	8. Chapter 8

Victoria's POV

Max had been acting weird since that morning. She was being strangely distant and almost cold as we drove to the coffee shop down the street from our apartment, staring out the passenger side window in silence. I wasn't sure why she was acting so weird, but I decided not to take it personally. She was going through a lot of tough shit and she probably didn't want to dump it all on me. So I was going to do everything I could to try and make it easier and be as understanding as I was capable of being.

I clicked a button the steering wheel, one of Max's favorite songs coming on over the speakers. It was some song that was slow with lots of guitar and a guy singing who sounded like he had a few marbles in his mouth, but I didn't mind. It was relaxing music, even if it wasn't my favorite. Max looked over at the dashboard then at me and I smiled at her out of the corner of my eye, taking her hand in mine. I felt her shaking against my hand and my heart ached. I wished with everything I had that she didn't have to go through this, that she could just have a normal life with all the normal stresses people like us were supposed to have. I'd have given anything to take her pain away. I'd have taken it on myself if I had to. It would be worth it to see her smile and laugh and just live without this shadow following her around like a curse. She didn't deserve this kind of thing. Especially not after everything she went through. Everything she gave up.

We parked in front of the little coffee shop and I turned to see Max staring blankly out at the parking lot, her features tense and rigid. Leaning over the center console, I took her chin in my hand, turning her head towards me. Her watery grey eyes locked with mine, pleading with me like I was forcing her into something she really didn't want to do.

"It's going to be ok," I said softly, pulling her in for a kiss. She barely moved and I could taste the salt of her tears as they rolled down her cheeks.

"I don't deserve you," she whispered, still shaking as she avoided my gaze. My heart broke a little as I looked at her. She looked broken, like she had already decided that something horrible was going to happen.

"Don't even start, Max," I replied gently, trying to sooth her as I wiped my thumb over a tear that had escaped her. "Everything will go back to normal soon. Then things like this won't happen anymore." She looked like she wanted to protest, but decided against it, her features hardening in a look determination as she gave me a little nod.

"Ok," she said, her voice shaking a little less. "Let's get this over with." I smiled, nodding before turning to get out of the car. We walked up to the front door, passing the outdoor area as we went.

"Victoria," a familiar voice greeted me, sending a chill down my spine. This was not the person I was hoping to see, but it was the one I'd expected. I turned around, seeing a man in an Armani suit sitting at one of the small outdoor tables. His graying hair was slicked back, his charcoal tinted sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. He smiled politely at me, but the small smirk I saw behind it was much more unsettling.

"Mr. Prescott," I greeted stiffly, feeling Max tense beside me. "What a coincidence."

"I think you and I both know it was no such thing," he said, motioning faintly to the empty chairs at the table he sat at. "Please, take a seat so that we can get to business." I looked at Max, seeing her cheeks had grown considerably pale, her eyes wide.

"Can you do this?" I asked her, only getting the faintest nod from her as I took her hand. We walked over to the table and I pulled a seat out for Max, sitting down in the chair next to hers. We both sat across the table from Prescott, his smile never leaving his face.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Maxine," he said, sounding less calm and polite than usual. "I'd say it's a pleasure, but I'm not sure that would sound truthful under our current circumstance."

"What is this about?" I cut in, not wanting to stay here any longer than we had to. I didn't want to put Max through more trauma than needed. I could only imagine the images flying through her mind in that moment. Was she remembering the Dark Room? Was she thinking about Nathan? Was she thinking about finding Rachel's body or watching Chloe die over and over again as they scrambled to find a girl who had been dead for months?

"Ah, yes, straight to business, just like your father," Prescott replied, straightening in his chair before pulling a few files out of the briefcase that was leaned against one of the legs of his chair. After spreading the three files out in front of us, he leaned his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together as he locked his gaze with mine. "Let's start with you, Victoria Maribeth Chase." He opened one of the files, revealing pictures of me and a man with torn up clothes and ratty hair, handing me a baggy that looked to be filled with something much more incriminating than weed. I froze, staring in wide-eyed disbelief at the picture in front of me.

"How did you -"

"How is not important," he interrupted me, causing me to bristle a little, but my fear was greater than my anger. "Why is the interesting part. But wait, I have more." Reaching for the file in the middle, he opened it, revealing several pictures and emails. All the emails had my dad's name on them, but the other name was blacked out, even though I knew that Prescott was the other person involved in the emails. "This is completely reliable evidence that your own father has committed several different crimes. One being bribery, another being fraud, a few of them having to do with money laundering and many, many more that I'm sure you wouldn't quite understand." My heart was hammering against my ribs as I looked at the file, barely able to move. "Don't look so shocked. If this gets to you then this next one is going to blow your mind." He was grinning when I looked up at him, but he was reaching for the last file before I could say anything.

When he opened it, pictures of Max and I came into view. Us at the hotel in Portland, completely naked and not exactly doing anything innocent, not to mention a few photos of similar situations in both of our dorms. That's when I snapped, getting to my feet and slamming my hands on the table as my chair clattered against the concrete.

"How dare you," I shouted, glaring daggers at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He feigned innocence, looking around at the people staring at me.

"Please, sit down, Victoria," Prescott practically purred, motioning to my chair. "You're causing a scene. Just sit down for a moment, it won't take long to explain my offer." I felt Max grab my hand and tug a little, her eyes pleading with me. I sent a glare back at Prescott before grabbing my chair off the ground and sitting down again, my arms crossed over my chest. It wasn't the fact that they were pictures of me that set me on edge, it was the fact that he had to audacity to bring Max's reputation into this or our relationship as a whole.

"What makes you think this is even remotely acceptable?" I growled at him. He just grinned, leaning back in his chair.

"I have an offer for you," he said, taking off his sunglasses and looking my right in the eye. "If you refuse me now, I will reveal one of these three things to the public. If you continue to refuse, then one by one, all these things will be in the eyes of the public and your reputation, as well as Maxine's and your family's will be ruined. Your name will be ruined forever. You'll never get anywhere, at least not in the art world, I can guarantee that. As for Maxine, her name will be just as tarnished as yours. I'm sure the last thing she needs is to be known as the secret gay partner of one of the most hated, criminal photographers in the states."

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice shaking more than I would've liked to admit.

"I need you to testify for Nathan in court," he replied, putting his sunglasses back on. "If you don't… Well, you know what will happen if you say no." I wanted to say no. I wanted to scream in his face and tell him to go fuck himself and stay as far away from me as humanly possible. But then I looked down at the files again. Max and I in that hotel, her eyes screwed shut with my head between her legs, completely vulnerable to me and anyone who saw the image. Then there was the picture of me taking a bag of drugs that I'm pretty sure was ecstasy, but I couldn't be sure. Then there was the file with my dad's work stuff. I couldn't let all that get out. But if I testified against Max she might… She might end up in prison and I would never be able to live with myself if that happened. Especially since she didn't even have anything to do with Chloe's death. Well, not technically.

"Tori," Max whispered, taking my hand. I looked over to her, meeting her watery grey eyes. She looked defeated, her features sort of lax and her eyes downcast. "You have to do this."

"I can't." But it was weak. "This isn't right."

"You don't have any other choice," Max replied. "Please. You have to do this." I looked down at our hands, fingers intertwined. I didn't want to do this.

"Fine," I said after a few moments of silence. Prescott smirked, closing the files and picking them up to put them back in his briefcase before getting to his feet.

"That's a good girl," he said, turning to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing." I looked up to see him looking over his shoulder. "If you tell anyone about our little agreement, the whole world will know your every secret before you can blink." I couldn't think of anything to say before he walked out of earshot, so I just looked at the ground, burying my face in my hands as my eyes stung with unshed tears.

"Tori," Max whispered, her voice weak and shaky. I swallowed around the lump in my throat and looked up to meet her eyes. "We should go home." I nodded, getting up and walking towards my car. Max took my hand, her grip tight before she had to let go so we could get in the car and go home. The drive was silent, heavy. Even more so than the drive to the coffee shop. When we walked into the house, I just collapsed on the couch, burying my face in my hands and running my fingers through my hair. I held back the tears that pressed against my eyelids, the searing anger, guilt and fear that boiled and roared in my chest like raining fire. How could Prescott have done something like this? Why would Nathan let him do this? Did Nathan even know?

I heard someone shuffling around in the bedroom and looked up. Max wasn't in the living room with me, so I figured it was her in the bedroom as I got to my feet and headed to the door. Sure enough, it was Max, but she wasn't changing her clothes or making the bed or playing with Bongo. She was packing a suitcase.

My heart sank down to the bottom of my stomach, poisoning my blood with dread.

"Max?" It was little more than a whisper, but it got past my lips somehow. She froze, but didn't look up at me before continuing to throw clothes into the suitcase laid open on the bed. "What are you doing?" But she didn't say a word as she tossed a bundle of t-shirts into her suitcase. The lead that must've kept me standing still melted away, allowing me to step forward and grab her wrist before she could turn back to the dresser. "Please."

"I have to go stay with my parents," she replied weakly, still avoiding my gaze. I blinked dumbly at her, my grip on her wrist loosening.

"Why?" It was more of a breath than anything else.

"I make more problems than I solve," she said quietly, slipping away from me and grabbing a few pairs of jeans. "If I leave, then you can testify for Nathan and not have me around to make you feel guilty."

"I'll feel guilty for testifying against you whether you're here or not," I replied, sounding much more desperate than I meant to. "Max, you can't leave."

"I have to," she said simply, but her voice shook.

"No, you don't," I insisted, stopping her before she could reach to close the suitcase by taking both her hands in mine. "Please, Max. I need you. I can't do this without you." The tears that I'd been holding back finally broke through, sliding down my cheeks as Max kept her gaze locked on the ground, still refusing to look at me.

"If I stay then all I'll do is get you hurt," she said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Or worse." It hit me like a ton of bricks then. The realization of what had been on Max's mind felt far too heavy to be real, and it wasn't even a reason that I believed.

"Max, I know you think what happened to Chloe was your fault, but it -"

"Don't," she said firmly, catching me off guard. "I have to do this. I can't let my stupid powers hurt anyone else. Can't let them kill anyone else. Especially not you." She let go of my hands, picking up her suitcase and messenger bag up off the bed. "I'm sorry. Maybe after everything is over we can try this again. But you can't be around me when this is happening." She walked past me, towards the front door and I could barely make my legs move to stop her.

"Max, please don't leave," I begged, the words coming out in sobs. She hesitated, but she didn't stop. "Max. Max!" But she opened the door and walked out, getting into the car I recognized as her dad's. She must have texted him and told him to pick her up. And I hadn't even noticed. I stared at the open door, watching Max climb into her dad's car and look down at her lap as he drove away.

Something in my chest started to hurt, the pain growing stronger until I was crying so hard that I could barely breathe. She hadn't even said goodbye. I stomped over to the door, slamming it shut as tears streamed down my face. Things started to blur a little from the tears in my eyes as I slammed my back against the door, sliding down it until I was sitting on the floor, my knees pulled to my chest.

I don't remember how long I cried for, but it hurt and it felt like forever. I called Taylor at some point, but she didn't answer. I almost called Nathan. Then I looked down at my home screen and I had to resist the unbearable urge to smash the stupid phone on the tile floor. It was a picture of Max and me, my arm wrapped around her shoulder and my lips pressed to her cheek. She had that stupid grin on her face. Her eyes even looked like they were sparkling.

My chest clenched and I did the last thing I ever thought I'd do. I called my mom. The like only rang twice before she answered.

"Hello, this is Amanda Chase," she said in that typical businessy tone of hers. I wondered if she'd even looked at her phone before answering it or if she even had my number still saved to her contacts.

"Mom," I croaked, my eyes filling with my tears at the sound of my own voice. I was torn between hanging up to rip my own vocal cords out for betraying me and waiting for her to say something.

"Victoria? Are you alright?" She asked, sounding a little concerned. I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. I wasn't even sure if I should tell her the truth.

"No," I ended up saying despite my better judgment. "Max left."

"Left?" She sounded surprised, but that only made the pounding in my chest hurt more. "Why?"

"She said she was doing it so that I could…" Could what? Lie to a jury and judge and tell them that Max was a murderer? "So that I could testify for Nathan if I wanted to." Which was far enough away from the truth to be safe but close enough to it to be believable.

"You sound really unsettled by the whole thing," she said gently, but there was a bit of her usual tone in it so it didn't feel too much like she was concerned. "I'll come pick you up so you can stay with us for a few days."

"Mom, no, I'm fine." But I didn't sound convincing enough.

"Don't argue with your mother," she said softly, the sound making me feel even more like the world was suddenly coming to a horrible end. Even though such a thought was ridiculous. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. If you haven't packed anything by the time I get there then I'm going to have to pack for you."

"Ok," I sniffled, wiping my eyes. But when I hung up the phone, I couldn't convince my legs to move. Max was gone. My girlfriend. My best friend. Hell, I'd call her my everything if it didn't sound so over dramatic and stupid. I don't know how much time passed, but eventually, there was a knock at the door and I made myself get up whether my legs wanted to or not. When I opened the door, my mom was standing there with a neutral expression expertly placed on her face.

"May I come in?" She asked, her features seeming to soften a little as she looked me over. I just nodded, stepping aside to let her in. She stepped past me, looking around at the apartment. It was clean, as usual. Max and I managed to keep the place pretty clean most of the time despite her messy habits. My heart clenched at the thought and I had to blink several times to keep more tears from falling. "By the lack of luggage, I'm guessing you didn't pack while you were waiting for me?" I shook my head, taking a deep breath before crossing my arms over my chest and speaking.

"No," I replied, looking at the open door to the bedroom. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to just decide that I didn't need to pack anything and leave, but my mom would think that was strange, so I followed her into the room and watched her look around. I felt anxiety crawling around in my chest, but my heart hurt too much to pay much attention to it. I just sat on the bed, watching my mom search for a suitcase.

"Where do you keep your luggage?" She asked, not even bothering to add a snide remark about how there were open drawers in the dresser.

"Closet," I replied, seeing Bongo prance out of the bathroom, his tail held high as he made his way over to the bed and hopped on. My mom turned and saw him brushing his head against my knee, her brows quirked up as if to ask why the hell there was a cat in my room. "Long story," was all I could say. I just didn't want to remember how happy Max had looked bringing the little guy back here. I pet his head, scratching under his chin as he started to purr.

"I expect that we'll be taking him along as well?" My mom asked. I shrugged, taking a deep breath, trying to forget that night all together. If I just pushed the memory down far enough, it wouldn't make me want to cry again.

"If that's ok with you," I said, watching as she set the suitcase on the bed and then made her way to the dresser.

"Well, we can't just leave him here all alone, can we?" She replied, seeing that Max's drawers were still open. Her eyes widened a little as she noticed that the clothes in them weren't mine. Looking over at me, she stayed quiet, watching me carefully. "So Max was… More than just your roommate, by the looks of it. Or did she just not have a dresser of her own in her bedroom?" I let out a breath that I guess could've been a harsh laugh depending on how you looked at it.

"You really want to talk about this right now?" I asked, looking down at Bongo who was curled up next to my thigh, purring contentedly, oblivious to the things that were going on around him for the most part. I felt the bed dip as my mom sat down next to me. She was close, but not touching me. Like sitting near me was already an invasion of my privacy.

"It would explain why you're so upset," she said almost too gently, like she was walking on eggshells. I sighed, shaking my head.

"I really don't need a lecture right now, mom," I replied, but it wasn't very firm.

"A lecture?" She asked, sounding more confused than I would've expected.

"Yeah, about how I'm the heir to the Chase legacy so I shouldn't be dating girls and all that bullshit." It came out before I could stop it and I could've sworn that my mom flinched a little.

"You can date whoever you want, Victoria," my mom said softly, hesitantly putting her hand on my shoulder. I didn't move away, even though I wanted to. I could tell that she was trying to be comforting and, in a small sort of way, it was working. "I'm your mother, not your warden." I scoffed, but there wasn't much behind it.

"Why are you acting so motherly all of a sudden anyway?" I ventured, trying to leave the resentment I felt boiling up in my gut under wraps. There was a pause and my mom lowered her hand from my shoulder and rested her hand on top of mine. I looked up at her, meeting a pair of eyes that I had always seen as cold and unyielding. But now, in a moment when I least expected it, they were soft and almost loving.

"Call it making up for lost time," she said softly, smiling weakly at me. I hadn't noticed the laugh lines around her mouth until that moment or the crows feet at the corners of her eyes. They were subtle, but there. In that moment, my mom wasn't Amanda Chase, owner of the Chase Space and wife to one of the richest men in the world. Instead, she was just mom, all comforting smiles and warm touches and gentle words that helped me feel like my world hadn't just fallen out from under me in less than an hour.

I hugged her after that, even if it was awkward and short. It was kind of nice. We went back to her house after that and I put my things in my old room, looking around at the high ceiling and stark white walls. The bed was still perfectly made and everything had been dusted regularly by the looks of it. Regardless, it didn't feel like home. And the bed wasn't even half as warm as the bed I'd shared with Max.


	9. Chapter 9

Max's POV

According to several emails from my lawyer and from Mrs. Chase, the trial wouldn't start for another two months because the Prescotts still had to gather their defense. But, honestly, I didn't care that much. Not when every waking moment filled my chest with a sinking feeling and the world turned grey around me no matter how many pictures I took. None of them looked the way I wanted them to. None of them made me smile when I looked at them. The last picture I'd taken that made me smile was one of Tori with a glass of wine in her hand, the light of the setting sun filtering through the kitchen window as she smiled, telling me about the third time she'd failed her driver's test.

I kept that picture with me all the time now, even though looking at it made my heart ache beyond words. It reminded me that thing wouldn't be like this forever. That we could go back to the way things were when all of this was over. If she still wanted me, anyway. Part of me hoped beyond reason that she would wait for me to come back, that she'd miss me. But an even bigger part of me begged the universe to let her hate me and never want to speak to me again. That's what I deserved. Even from the beginning, when all we had been were two kids who accidentally skipped the friendship stage and fell in love with each other somewhere along the line. I had hoped that we'd be like that forever, that the biggest thing on our minds would be coming out to our parents and going to school and getting jobs and just becoming viable citizens.

But now I had a murder charge and my best friend's death looming over my head like a guillotine.

I sighed, leaning back against the wall I'd been sitting against. I was at work that day at some school that was only a five minute drive away from the studio. The kids were all at recess, so we'd have to wait for them to get back so we could finish the last of the classes that needed their ID pictures taken. My boss and Kate were on the shoot with me along with another photographer I hadn't met before today. They didn't bother introducing themselves to me and I didn't really feel like trying to make a good first impression, anyways. Instead, I stared up at the ceiling, watching the lights flicker as they made that humming noise florescent lights always made. I barely noticed when Kate sat down next to me, fixing me with concerned hazel eyes.

"Are you ok, Max?" She asked softly, making my chest clench with guilt. I thought I would've been used to that question after losing Chloe, but people usually stopped asking after a while. I hadn't thought anyone would have to ask me so gently after things started to get better. But here I was, apparently as much of a wreck on the outside that I was on the inside, and Kate had noticed.

"I'd be lying if I said yes," I replied, pulling my knees against my chest. I knew it wasn't the right thing to say, but I didn't really care. At least, not until I felt Kate run her knuckles down my arm in a tentative gesture of affection that I hadn't quite expected. But it made my throat feel tight and the tears I thought I was out of start stinging my eyes when I looked over to see her frowning at me in her concern.

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong, but you can if you want to," she coaxed gently. "Maybe talking about it will help." As sweet as the offer was, I doubted that it would help much. When my dad had asked what was wrong as he drove me to my parents' house, I'd burst into tears, unable to tell him anything that would be a convincing enough lie. I hadn't stopped crying for a few days after that and I hadn't slept hardly at all. My mom even had to force me to eat a few times, threatening to send me to the hospital if I didn't start taking care of myself. That's probably the only reason I'd taken a shower before coming to work. I was about to say thanks, but no thanks until my boss walked over, all long legs and a confident smirk.

"You alright, Max?" She asked, making me jump a little as I looked up at her. When my gaze met hers, her smirk fell away into a slight frown as her brows knit together. The crease in the middle of her forehead reminded me of the way Tori always looked when she asked me that exact question, stealing some of my resolve as tears pricked at my eyes. I just shook my head, burying my face in my knees. This was so unprofessional that I'm surprised I didn't get fired on the spot for being a big cry baby, but I let some of my tears fall anyway, taking in a shaky breath. There was a sigh from above me and I felt Miss Marshall kick my shoe to get my attention. When I looked up at her, she was smiling a little before she offered me her hand to help me up. "Come on, let's go get you some air. You two can handle things here while I help her calm down, right?" Kate nodded beside me, shooting me a nervous glance and squeezing my shoulder reassuringly as she got to her feet and walked back to the nameless photographer.

"Come on, Caulfield," Miss Marshall said, bringing me back to reality. I took her hand and she helped me to my feet before starting towards the door that lead to the front of the school. I watched my own shoes as we walked out the door, sure that I was about to get the lecture of a lifetime. I had hoped that I would stop getting the "Why don't you try harder? You have so much potential!" speech after I was done with high school. I'd actually started getting less of those speeches since I had started dating Tori since she made everything a dick measuring contest, but in a fun way. It wasn't about being cut throat or seeing who could be the best, it was about challenging each other to do the best we could because that's what we wanted for one another. We wanted to be the best we could while making each other better.

It sounds sappy and dramatic, but I almost felt like I'd lost the passion for photography and music and just overall living since I'd left Tori crying in our apartment a week before. I felt like I'd ended my own world to save her from the guilt of testifying against me. If I ended up being found guilty, she'd feel horrible, so it was better this way. Right?

"What's wrong?" Miss Marshall asked me, pulling me from my thoughts with a slightly startled jump. I hadn't noticed that we were standing just outside the school, behind a wall that hid us from the eyes of anyone who might've seen us. It was sort of unsettling, really. Especially since my boss wasn't particularly easy to talk to, even about things that had nothing to do with my personal life.

"Nothing," I replied, a small sniffle blowing the lie to pieces.

"Come on, spill," the taller woman insisted, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing me with a look that reminded me all too much of the way Tori would look at me when she asked me if I would ever be more than a trash hipster someday in front of Taylor and Courtney. I shrugged, avoiding my boss's gaze and rubbing my shoulder nervously. I felt as small as I had back at Blackwell before that week in October. Just as weak and afraid and useless. Even after everything I had been through, after catching Jefferson and getting Nathan put in prison and saving Chloe too many times to count, I was still just Max. Just a shy nerd with a camera and a lack of motivation. There was just one difference between the person I was in that moment and the person I had been at Blackwell. I missed Victoria more than I could ever express.

I hadn't realized that I was crying until my boss had wrapped her arms around me, pulling me against her and burying her face in my hair. I tensed up immediately, tears creating trails down my cheeks. Miss Marshall pulled away a little, putting her hands on my shoulders and looking into my eyes.

"I heard about your trial and about that girl who has to testify against you," she explained, her features tight with concern. "She was more than just a friend, wasn't she?" I nodded, swallowing as I looked back at the ground, wishing I could just rewind time and take back my mistake.

"I'm sorry, Miss Marshall, I'll pull it together," I apologized weakly, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"Please, call me Angie," she replied softly, lifting my chin with her fingers until my eyes were locked with hers. "I'm sorry to hear that you're having a hard time. I hate seeing such a pretty girl sulk about someone who doesn't even deserve her. Let me make you feel better." I stared up into her eyes in confusion for a moment, but when I realized what she meant, it was too late. She crashed her lips against mine, making me gasp, but no matter how loudly my mind screamed for me to pull away, I couldn't move. Just when I thought she was going to pull away, she didn't, pressing me back against the wall behind me before starting to tug at my shirt. Every fiber of my being begged me to pull away, to escape somehow. This wasn't right. I didn't want to kiss my boss. I didn't wanna kiss anyone except for Victoria. I didn't want this. Victoria was the only one who deserved my kisses, but she also deserved so much more, so much better than I could ever give her. But that didn't mean I was going to give up trying to be enough just because I made a mistake.

So I shoved and I shoved hard, pushing Angie back a few steps to see her shocked expression turn sour. She clenched her fists by her sides, her eyes fiery as she started to advance on me again.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She growled, looking like she was about to hit me. "You are so fired if you think you can just turn me down and shove me! You stupid, fucking bitch!" I raised my hand before I could stop it and the world around me slowed and blurred, gradually beginning to reverse itself around me. My head started to pound and the pain built fast and hard behind my eyes and forehead until it was practically blinding. Finally, when the pain was too much and I let go, my boss was standing in front of my with her arms crossed over her chest again, but her expression was changing as black shadows started crowding around the edges of my vision.

"Max?" She asked, taking a step forward as the world kept spinning and I felt blood trickle from my nose. "Oh my god, Max, are you ok?"

"Call… an ambulance." It was the only thing I could manage to say before I fell forward and the world went dark. The last thing I remember thinking was how big of a mistake I had made. How leaving Tori alone was a mistake. Not just because I had left her all alone, though that was probably the biggest part. But I hadn't realized until that moment that I had let myself be alone now too.


End file.
